Twenty Years Later
by Outtie
Summary: A Rush & Young piece set twenty years or so after the end of the series.
1. Chess and backrubs

Young: _"I know it was you." _

Rush: _"Sorry?" _

Young: _"The Files were not corrupted; the Keno kept recording until you came into the room… so let's hear it, let's hear how you lie your way out of this one."_

Rush: _"I heard the shot. I went to investigate and then I found him."_

Young: _"And then you decided to frame me for murder."_

Rush: _"That's a bit melodramatic…nah, I knew there wouldn't be any real evidence against you. The idea was to create just enough doubt to get you to step aside."_

Young: _"I see. That was the idea."_

Rush: _"Well you're the wrong man for the job Colonel. I'm sorry to be the one to have to say it, but I think you know it's true."_

Young: _"Do I?"_

Rush: _"You don't believe in the mission. You resigned your position as SG leader because you didn't want to make the hard decisions; the life and death decisions. Well that makes you a liability. I'm not proud of what I did, but I did it for the benefit of everyone on board."_

Young: _"The end justifies the means."_

Rush: _"Yeah, something like that."_

(pause for fisticuffs and mutual headbuttery)

Young: _"Are we done?"_

Rush: _"We'll NEVER be done."_

- SGU "Justice"

(O)

_Twenty Years Later_

"Oh for the love of God Rush, just make a damn move already!" Colonel Young yelled, his patience with Rush already worn thin for the day.

"I'm thinking" Rush bit back at him, "I know that is a foreign concept to _you_…"

Young let that one slip by, after all it wasn't every decade that Nicholas Rush lost a chess match. _He's probably trying to find a way to cheat him out of his win_, Young thought, "Just surrender already Rush" he growled, "Just accept that I've finally beaten you. Even if it _did_ take me twenty years."

Rush's frown became even more pronounced as it turned into a scowl of concentration or perhaps simple consternation. It must be a Monday. Things always go to shit on a Monday.

"Damn it you cranky old bastard just concede already!" Young fairly screamed in frustration.

"I'm no older or crankier than you are, Colonel" Rush said, the calm evenness of his tone angering the Colonel even further, just as he knew it would. "And as for the legality of my parentage that is none of your business and never was."

"You know Rush, there are some days I feel like I could just straggle you and put us both out of our misery."

"You've had plenty of opportunities Colonel."

"Yeah, well maybe next time I'll follow thru!"

"You don't have the guts" Rush stated looking him strait in the eye.

"Oh no?" Young replied haughtily, "Because I seem to recall differently."

"Oh you could kill me easily enough and never regret it Colonel" Rush informed him, "but you'd never do it. Kill me and you'll die alone in a cold spaceship that even after all these years, you _still_ can't run without me."

Young clenched his fists. Why the Hell was Rush _always_ right? Damn him.

(O)

Colonel Young paused to lean against the bulkhead and catch his breath after tackling the stairs. A few seconds were all he needed, he wasn't infirm yet by God! He just walked more slowly these days and the long empty corridors only seemed to get longer and emptier as the years wore on. _How long had they been doing this?_ He wondered, he didn't even know what year this would be back on Earth and it had been so long since he had seen another human face other than Rush's that all the other faces had begun to fade away from his memory.

That's why he came here as often as he could. He'd walk down the corridors of the cryostasis compartments and gaze at each face in turn to remind himself that his life wasn't always like this and that all this had a purpose, even if it didn't always _feel_ that way. He just hoped all his sacrifices would be worth it in the end.

He visited with Tamara first, her cool blond beauty unchanged from the first day he saw her back on Icarus base, much too beautiful to be wasted on the army he'd thought. She should be in Paris being sought after by every painter in the city or in ancient Greece being carved into a marble likeness of Athena, the goddess of wisdom. God he was getting maudlin in his old age, Young thought, as he tried to shake the wave of self-pitying sadness out of his head. _Best to move on from TJ I'd say_.

He'd taken to saluting Greer and Scott in turn as he passed by their stasis pods, as if the years had reversed their positions somehow making them the commanding officers and him the soldier, just living day by day, carrying out his orders to the best of his ability. He passed by each and every person in turn spending as much time looking at each as he cared too.

He always saved Eli for last. Eli who had quite nearly sacrificed his own life to save Young from _definitely_ sacrificing his life by staying awake with a pod he could never hope to fix. Thankfully for all of them, Eli _could_ fix a stasis pod and he'd done it in time to keep them from drifting across the intergalactic void for centuries. Sometimes he wished Eli hadn't bothered.

(O)

"Ow!" Young clenched his fists as the pain doubled.

"Do you want me to stop, Colonel?" Rush asked, not in the least intending too.

"Of course not! …Ooof….but you could be a little gentler. I am an old man now you know."

"Believe me I'm well aware of that. We're neither of us as young as we used to be."

"Oh, just stop your yapping and press harder would you!"

Rush shrugged, "Harder it is then."

"Gaaaah!... Oh for fucks sake Rush! You're killing me!"

"You said harder, I went for harder." Rush replied, as he ground his heel into the Colonel's aching back.

"Would it kill you to cut your toenails once and awhile?"

"Possibly."

"We'll see how you like when I slice into _your_ back with _my_ toenails the next time YOU pull a muscle."

"I don't seem to have the problems you have in that department, Colonel. _I_ do yoga."

"What does that prove? I've been doing the same damn yoga with you for the last ten damn years!"

"Yes, but I do it _properly_."

"Lotalotawork" Young muttered into the uncaring floor.


	2. Nudist Destiny and disturbing dreams

Rush: "_Are you familiar with the cosmic microwave background radiation?"_

_Young: "The noise leftover from the big bang?"_

Rush: _"A long time ago the Ancients made a discovery. They found evidence of a structure buried deep within the background radiation. They believed that at one time this structure had genuine complexity… coherence and therefore could not have occurred naturally."_

Young: _"How is that even possible?"_

Rush: _"It's not. At least not according to our current understanding of physics, nor could we even SEE the structure with our technology."_

Young: _"Ok, so what are we talking about some kind of code? A message?"_

Rush: _"A message perhaps, or a sign of intelligence, from the beginning of time." _

Young: _"Sent by?"_  
Rush: _"Well that's the very question they sought to answer when they launched Destiny. That is the mission. We're talking about a mystery rooted in the foundation of reality. A puzzle with pieces scattered across the length and breadth of the universe itself. "_

Young: _"I swear to God Rush if this is another one of your hoaxes…"_

Rush: _"Once I'd broken the code, I had access to the ship's complete archive. There are thousands of pages devoted to this. Scientific research… philosophical debate…"_

Young: _"If we don't have the technology to see this thing how the Hell am I supposed to believe…"_

Rush: _"Because Destiny's not our technology Colonel! The Ancients left us their data, as well as their ship."_

Young: _"And you've seen this data…"_

Rush: _"I'll show it to ya …I don't promise you'll be able to understand it, but its there. SOMEONE has to see this mission through. We're here. Why not us? Stop saying we don't belong in that ship, embrace it, move forward, stop looking behind us."_

Young: _"I just want to get these people home."_

Rush: _"Well I'm starting to think that seeing this mission through maybe our only chance of ever doing that._

- SGU "The Greater Good"

It had been blipping for hours before he heard.

Nicholas Rush had risen creakily from the bed, his small body feeling its age the most in the morning when he first hauled his protesting flesh out of bed, out of the dreams of all the people he'd never see again. Gloria her eyes shining on their Wedding Day, full of life as she always was in his dreams. As he and Gloria linked arms to toast their marriage, his eyes locked on Amanda Perry as she walked past them with a deep, ageless longing in her cool blue eyes. He saw Colonel Young standing by the drinks table, pouring a bottle of Brody's homebrew into the punch bowl…

Rush woke up angry. Why the Hell did the Colonel always have to butt into every area of his life?! Couldn't he at least let him have his dreams in peace?

He shrugged off the lingering remnants of the dream as the waking world came into focus around him. Another day on Destiny. Just another Day.

Only then did he notice the steady pulsing of the tiny little light on the panel he had been waiting half a lifetime to see lit.

(O)

Everett Young hadn't slept this well in ages. All he'd been able to see in his dreams for months was exactly what he saw when he was awake – Rush, Destiny and more Rush & Destiny. Even in his dreams he no longer seemed to be able to free himself of this ship or of HIM. But tonight for the first time his dreams had flown back home, back to Earth. He saw his house, just as he remembered it from before the divorce, except it wasn't Emily's face he saw inside their house, it was TJ's. Her blond hair was down as he'd seldom seen it before and she held a healthy laughing baby in her arms… but why on Earth was she talking to him about some damn computer program?

"…are you even listening to me?" she said, her voice lilting joyously at some unknown happiness.

And since when did Tamara have a Scottish accent?

"The Ancients program!" she went on, "The Mission! We've finally arrived!..."

"Young struggled awake from what he considered the most disturbing dream he'd ever had, well since puberty anyway, to find Rush pounding on his door.

"Why the Hell didn't you answer me?" Rush complained, "Didn't you hear what I said?! The Mission, the heart of everything we've been working towards… we're nearly there!"

In Twenty plus years Young had never seen the man so excited.

(O)

"How long until we get there?" Young asked.

"A matter of days now" Rush replied, "Six to be precise."

"Only six days away from a destination thousands of years in the making"

"Possibly more like millions, Colonel"

"It just seems odd to me that we arrived on this ship within 25 years of its destination. Quite a coincidence don't you think?"

"A coincidence perhaps, but if these years have taught me – and _should_ have taught YOU anything, it's that this ship – Destiny – is far more alive than we may ever know."

"So what's the plan Rush?"

Rush blinked, "The plan?"

"Yeah" Young said, "the plan. We've been following this rabbit trail for the last twenty years, what do we do with the next six days?"

"I'm just shocked that you're asking me instead of issuing orders. That's always been more your style."

"Well maybe _I've_ learned a few things over the years too. You and me Rush, we've been through too much together to doubt each other now. I mean what would be the point of backing out now anyway. We're here. We might as well see this thing through – wherever it leads."

"Thank you Colonel" Rush said, in that odd open way he had when he was being completely truthful instead of holding out on him like he usually did.

"So?" Young prompted.

Rush paused and ran his fingers through his snowy white hair, "I think it's time for us to wake the crew" he said, "All of Destiny should be awake to see their mission through."

(O)

Young stood in the cryo-hallway fussing with his worn and frayed uniform. The damn thing looked older than he felt. If Rush hadn't kicked up such a fuss at the idea of going nude on a semi-permanent basis to spare the fabric of the few clothes they had left, then he wouldn't have to wear this disgrace of a uniform in front of his entire crew. From the stink he'd made about that idea you'd think he was worried Young would molest him once he got his precious trousers off.

Like that would ever happen.

He'd even reminded Rush about how Ernest Littlefield had done the same thing to preserve his only outfit when he'd been trapped on a planet for decades.

()

"_Yes, but he was ALONE_" Rush had complained, again giving Young a look like he didn't trust him to behave himself in a nudist colony version of Destiny, "_And if you recall_" he'd added, "_Professor Littlefield went a bit mad_."

"_Yeah, but that wasn't because of the nakedness, that was because of the loneliness… and you_", he reminded him, putting his arm across the wiry scientist's shoulder; "_you won't have that problem because YOU have ME to keep you sane. So cheer up_" he'd added smacking Rush sharply on his back.

"_Consider me cheered_" Rush had muttered sprinting off into the depths of the ship until Young finally gave in and radioed Rush to tell him he'd put his pants back on.

()

Young felt cheered by the memory; maybe it hadn't been so much that Rush needed him all these years, but that Young needed Rush. Maybe Rush was the one keeping _him_ sane. Now that was a scary thought.

His hand paused over the controls that would finally awaken his crew, his team after all this time, after all this waiting and watching and he realized this would be harder than he'd thought.

Young sighed. He'd always known they would have to re-awaken the crew eventually, but he dreaded the looks of shock he'd see when they saw how long they'd truly been kept sleeping. TJ would be a little easier than most. At her own insistence she had been awakened at regular intervals to give them both check-ups, but it never got any easier and he couldn't help wondering if she would still want to be with him knowing she wouldn't be going back to sleep the next day this time around.

But there wasn't anything he could do now to bring back the years he'd spent safeguarding Destiny's mission. Even now with all his regrets he knew he'd made the right decision staying awake with Rush. He knew in his heart that whatever they found at the end of this long and winding road would never equal in his own eyes the lives he'd lost, but he hoped there would be something there to make it all seem to have been worth it in the end.

Nothing could expiate his sins.

He just hoped Mr. Brody would be able to do something about getting him a new uniform at least.

He activated the controls.


	3. Backstory, boredom and blue potatoes

_Twenty Years Ago…_

"It's never going to work Eli!" Brody felt like shaking the math right out of Math Boy right about now. It just wasn't a good idea, there was no way Rush could run the entire ship by himself for years on end. Young had already agreed to stay awake with him, keep him in line, but what use was that really? Young wasn't a scientist, if things got hairy he'd be about as much help to Rush as Volker. Less even.

"It'll work Brody" Eli tried to assure the older and supposedly dumber man, "And if it doesn't Young is already making a back-up list of people who will be activated 'in the event of a Rush meltdown' or if he needs help with anything major or if he needs you know a hug after spending all that time alone with _Rush_."

"I sure would" Volker broke in form the sidelines.

"Colonel Young doesn't even know how to activate the cryostasis chambers!" Brody challenged Eli, completing ignoring Volker.

"He'll learn." Eli rebutted, "It's not like it's hard. All he has to do is press this button on any individual panel to wake any one of us up or press the big flashing button in the middle of the main panel to wake everybody up. Face it Brody, even Colonel Young can handle this one."

"I still don't think…"

Young stepped between the two bickering scientists, "It's already decided gentlemen", he said, turning to Brody, "Mr. Brody, are the automated devices in place?"

"Well yeah, for all the good _they'll_ do in a crisis" Brody grumbled.

"Are you telling me you built me some lousy robots Brody?" Young asked.

"No" Brody protested, "Thanks to the Ancient database they're the most advanced robots ever build by mankind, mankind in this case being me and if Eli has succeeded in getting Destiny to run them on her own without input from one of you…"

Young cut Brody off with a gesture and turned to Eli, "Eli, just tell me, are they working _now_?"

"Yes" Eli said, "Not like the last time I said they were ready and they tried to turn Destiny into an ice rink to conserve power… and I still say that was just Destiny or more likely Rush messing with us."

"Wonderful" Young said, "I'm so happy to know I won't end up skating to work every morning. Though it might have been more exciting than the reality of the situation."

"You uh, you can still change your mind Colonel" Brody said, "I mean I'd be happy to stay up with Rush and keep things going around here. Even if Eli says we shouldn't waste the power to have a third person awake and breathing, we could still say, take it in shifts. You do one year", he said to Young, "I do the next. Maybe we'll even let Eli have a turn" he added, hoping that would help to get Eli on his side.

"Oh no you don't!" Eli said, "You two crazy people may be willing to spend years alone with Rush to avoid staying in stasis, but _I_ for one am looking forward to sleeping in."

"I appreciate that you're so willing to help the mission, Mr. Brody" Young said, "But I don't think you can handle Rush."

"What and you can?" Brody asked.

"I can" Young confirmed.

"But what if he needs major help and you can't get to cryo-capsules to wake one of us up in time?" Brody asked, adding, "I'm telling you _I_ should be the one to stay with Rush, not Young. Colonel Young just doesn't have anything to offer Rush."

Volker snickered.

"What's so funny Dr. Volker?" Young snapped.

"It's just", Volker began, "…you do _realize_ that the two of you are basically fighting over who gets to keep _Rush_ company for the next God knows how many years." He laughed, "Come on, are you telling me you don't see the humor in that?"

That's when Young startled the room with a low rumbling chuckle that quickly advanced to a full blown belly shaking fit of laughter, "Yeah" he finally said, wiping a few stray tears from his eyes, "I guess I can see the humor in that."

Eli wondered exactly who would be keeping whom sane in this relationship.

(O)

Two weeks.

That's all it's been, just two weeks and he couldn't stand it anymore.

Colonel Young was bored.

He'd already been in every room in the currently habitable area of the ship (except for Rush's room) and scooped up every deck of cards, every book, nook, kindle and ipod he could find, but it just wasn't _active_ enough. Everett Young was a man who needed action on a daily basis and reading Volker's Regency romance e-book collection just wasn't going to cut it.

He needed exercise!

He needed excitement!

He needed some freakin' human interaction!

Which with a crew that now consisted entirely of Rush seemed about as realistic a fantasy as trading quips with George Washington in the middle of the Delaware.

Plus Rush was constantly working and never had time to play with him.

Young had polished every piece of the chess set and when that didn't work he polished it again, this time in front of Rush, but he still didn't get the hint and ask him if he'd like to play a game. Then he tried the direct approach asked Rush directly if he would 'please play a game of chess with me', but apparently he was too busy for even one little game with an 'amateur' that would 'probably be over in two moves'. Two moves indeed. Young knew he had at least four of five moves in him if Rush would just give him the chance.

"Come on Rush" he finally broke down and asked, "If you're too busy to play a game or have a conversation or eat every day, I get it. Running this ship with nobody around who can help is a pain in the ass, but you don't _have_ to run the ship alone Rush. I'm here and I'm more than willing to learn whatever you'll teach me and after all I have nothing but time to learn."

"Colonel Young," Rush said, never looking up from the consol, "I appreciate your offer, truly, but there simply isn't anything useful I could possibly have the time to teach you. Face it Colonel, you are not trained in science or mathematics or language or anything else that could help me."

"Then stop at a planet! Let me explore something or gather some resource for you or something. Anything!"

"I'm afraid with just the two of us eating…"

"Barely the way you've been skipping meals."

"The point is, we are in no need of stopping for anything for quite some time" Rush continued, "and I refuse to waste the time to explore a planet for resources we don't currently need merely to appease your male bravado."

"Rush I'm beggin' you, please give me something useful to do or I'm gonna go nuts one of these days and buddy right about now you're looking a little _squirrely_."

That one appeared to strike home. He could almost see the thoughts flashing through Rush's head as he pondered what a nuisance Young was already being and how that could possibly get worse.

"Okay then" Rush finally replied, "if you really want to know how you can help Colonel…"

"I do."

"OK then. The toilets need cleaning."

"Seriously?"

"Well they won't clean themselves now will they and if you're really keen to help you could do a little light dusting around the place as well. You know make it looks like someone cares."

"What a minute, are you telling me that with all the little robots that Brody built running around here, not one of them can dust?"

"It really wasn't our top priority at the time Colonel and I'm afraid with all my duties being the _sole_ scientist on a ship meant to be crewed by at least a _dozen_ highly advanced Ancients… safe to say I don't have the time to build one either."

"So it would help you out if I did this?" Young asked, gazing deep into Rush's enormous brown eyes until he found himself leaning in for... he wasn't sure he even knew.

"That would help me immensely Colonel" Rush replied hastily breaking eye contact and backing away.

"Ok" Young said, straitening, "I'll do it for you."

"Splendid" Rush said, "Just not my room."

"I'm sorry?"

"Not my room" Rush repeated, "I am perfectly capable of cleaning my own quarters and I do not need or want you meddling."

"Fine."

(O)

Colonel Young was as good as his word.

He dusted every knickknack.

He scrubbed every toilet.

He even talked Rush into cutting off the power to the Apple Core's consols for a minute so that he could clean those too without any unforeseen consequence from unintentional button pushing.

And you know what? He actually kind of enjoyed it.

Back on Icarus scrubbing the toilets was the worst punishment he could dole out without going up the chain of command and yet here he was whistling a happy tune while scrubbing blue tinged fecal matter down the sides of the toilet bowls.

At least now he knew _he_ wasn't the only one with that particular issue.

They really needed to find a new source of starch for their diets; these blue potatoes were causing far too many disconcerting side effects.

Maybe Rush would let him take over the garden? Surely even he could be able to keep a few plants alive, except of course for those damned potatoes. Those he could kill. Accidentally of course.

(O)

It had been nearly six months now since they'd put the crew in stasis.

The ship was spotless.

The garden was blooming. Which unfortunately included the blue potatoes which not only lived, but thrived despite his best efforts, he decided to call them Rush Potatoes, he even made a sign and posted it on the hull behind the plants, but Rush never noticed it or at least he never acknowledged it if he did.

Really Young was pretty content all things considered.

There was just one small thing that was bugging him (other than Rush) and that was _Rush_'s quarters.

He'd begun to get a bit obsessive about that room.

He'd stand beside the door and wonder, '_what could Rush possibly be hiding in there?'_

A collection of showtunes?

A secret stash of Brody's best hooch?

A pair of Chloe's old panties?

'_Platonic' sleepovers indeed._

Then one day as he watched Rush's quarters for signs of sedition (or sounds of showtunes), he saw one of Brody's little robots glide into Rush's room with a broom grasped in its little metal clampers.

He'd kill him. He'd absolutely kill him.

There was a cleaning robot _the whole time_.

Guess Brody ready did think of everything.

_Almost everything_, Young thought, _I could sure use some kind of friendly hug giving robot right about now. _

Lacking any other options Young sat down on his heels and hugged himself while plotting out the most painful methods he could think of to murder Rush.

"Lotta LOTTA work" he muttered to the uncaring air.


	4. Showers and apologies

_Twenty Years Later…_

TJ was doing her best to hide it, but Young knew that it did matter. He'd seen it reflected in her eyes when she'd woken up. She kept saying it was alright, but he could see that it wasn't. Not by a long shot.

The rest of the crew was shocked by the change too, but most of them weren't bothering to try and hide it. Brody and Volker were already cracking old man jokes at his expense (though they seemed more respectful around Rush) and Scott could hardly look him in the eye for the guilt he was clearly feeling. Greer was ok; he just wished he would stop offering to help him with everything. It made him feel like an old lady who didn't _need_ any help crossing the street being hurried across by a well-meaning boy scout.

Only Park seemed normal around him, but then again she couldn't see the ravages time had done to him could she.

He wished he could get Rush alone to talk about it. As crazy as it would sound to the rest of the crew, Rush was the only person Young felt _comfortable_ around now. He was the only other person in the whole universe who could understand him.

But Rush was plainly busy, he was running around like a man half his age checking readings and shooing the crew away from the consols that he now considered his sole property. It would probably takes months for Rush to get used to having other people working on Destiny's systems again. Too bad they only had five days until they reached… whatever it was they were headed for.

"Are you alright?"

Young didn't need to turn his head to know that TJ was behind him. "No" he said, then corrected himself, "I mean Yes. Yes I'm alright."

"I don't believe you."

"I said, I'm fine"

"But you're not" TJ told him, "Not really. After twenty years virtually alone…"

"I had Rush."

"Hence the 'virtually'" TJ replied, "I can't imagine he was much company and you and I only had a few days, a few days amongst all those years. Only a few days for me, but a lifetime for you."

"Half a lifetime maybe."

"Close enough", TJ hesitated, "Colonel …_Everett_, I'm so sorry."

Young braced himself. This is what he'd been expecting; and dreading. He turned around only to see the tears he'd already heard in her voice. "It's ok TJ," he said, "I know I can hardly expect us to pick up where we left off. Not now." _Now that I look like my grandfather_.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I was always older than you were, but this…" Young shrugged, "This just won't work."

"Oh I don't know" she said moving close enough to run her fingers through his hair, "I'm kind of digging this new shaggy look of yours."

Young raised his hand and felt the hair that was now brushing his shoulders. "Damn him!" he exclaimed heatedly, then found himself having to apologize for losing his temper, he'd hadn't had to hide his feelings for years. When he was mad he'd yell at Rush until he felt better and Rush seemed to do the same, though not as often, he had to admit.

"I forgot about the hair" he told her, "It hasn't much mattered in a long while and Rush has been too busy to cut it."

"Wait… you let _Rush_ cut your hair?"

"Yeah. Who else was there?"

"I think I would've let mine hit the ground before I let Rush near my head with a blade of any description."

"He's not that bad" Young said, "He' really a pretty good guy you know." Young was tired, all this talking in one day, it just seemed like too much.

"I was just picturing the two of you cutting each other's hair" TJ giggled, "It just sounds so cute. Please tell me you have at least ONE Keno of this?"

"No. As a matter of fact we just never thought about it."

"You know Colonel," she said, smiling, "It's been what _ten _years since I've had a shower…"

"Only ten?"

"Mmm hmm, I snuck one in during your ten year check-ups", she said, "I was supposed to be giving Rush a physical, but he ducked out of it and it seemed a waste to spend the rest of my only awake day in the year hanging around the infirmary. So I took a shower and read the next few chapters of my book instead."

Young laughed at that, "I forgot about your book," he said, "I read it myself years ago… but I made sure to leave your book mark in place when I was done. You've probably set a record by now for slowest reader."

They both had to laugh at that one, but it didn't last and soon the spaces between them widened again.

"You know you could have asked me" Young said.

"Asked you what?" she replied.

"To join you for that shower" he said quietly, "I would have you know. Hell I would've been by your side in the infirmary the whole time if Rush and I didn't have a deal in place about 'boundaries'.

TJ showed surprise, "Boundaries?" she laughed, "You mean you think he's shy? I mean he's not exactly Mr. Personality, but he never seemed to have a problem stripping off for his physical. Not for me anyway."

"Well, let's just say Rush and I have a complicated relationship and leave it at that" Young said.

"I'll bet" she replied, "…about that shower Colonel"

"TJ you don't have…"

"Of course I don't _have_ too Colonel, I don't haveto do anything I don't want to do" she reminded him, taking his hand and leading him down the hall towards the showers.

As he let himself be pulled along the corridor Colonel Young pulled at his overly long hair and scratched at the stubble he still hadn't bothered to shave, "You know I think a good shower may be exactly what I need right now…"

(O)

_Fifteen years ago…_

"What's your damn problem Rush?" Young asked watching the surprise and anger flash across Rush's emotive face.

"My problem?!" Rush nearly screamed, "You know precisely what my bloody problem is! Now get out of _MY_ shower!"

"What?" Young asked, feigning innocence as he leaned against the shower door, "We're just too dudes hanging out in a shower. Want me to scrub your back? It's looking pretty dirty…"

"No!" Rush really screamed this time jumping back out of Young's reach and hitting his head on the plumbing, "Keep your hands off of me you …pervert!"

That one stung. Young did his best to look hurt and vulnerable.

Then he saw it. A little trickle of crimson running down the side of Rush's face until it hit the mist-like shower vapor and dissolved like it had never been there. He reached across the gap between them and wiped the blood away from Rush's scalp wound. Surprisingly this time Rush didn't flinch away like he usually did when anyone tried to touch him.

"This may need stitches" Young said, reluctantly withdrawing his hand from the first human contact he'd had in months.

"I bloody hope not" Rush said, "The last thing I want is you hovering over my head with a needle and thread."

"I could maybe knock you out first? That way you wouldn't feel…"

"That's ok" Rush said, "I'd rather be awake and aware if you don't mind."

Young nodded, "Look, I know I probably shouldn't be here. It was a stupid impulsive decision..."

"Well you're known for those."

"Will you just let me finish apologizing!" Young snapped.

Rush crossed his arms and waited for Young to continue.

Young watched the water cascade down Rush's back and across his shoulders, jerking his eyes back up to meet Rush's wary gaze, before the other man could yell again.

"It's just …it's been what five years now since it was just the two of us here and other then TJ's annual physicals, I haven't felt the slight human contact in five long years. Do you understand how painfully… _lonely_ that makes me feel?"

"No."

"Ok, maybe that's not a problem for you," Young said, "But can you just try and see where I'm coming from about this? All I want is for you to you know…touch me, once in a while."

"Touch you? What are you a hippy? What do you mean by this 'touching'?" Rush asked, "Because I can assure you Colonel I am 100% heterosexual and I…"

"Whoa right there! I did not mean to imply that we should…"

"Hey, I wasn't the one who walked in on YOU naked in the shower now was I…"

"I already apologized for that!" Young reminded him.

"Not really, but alright. So what do you want from me?"

"Well I guess all I really want is …a hug"

"A hug? That's it?"

"Well yeah, that should do it."

Rush shrugged, "Alright Colonel, anything to get you out of my shower… I hereby state that I owe you one hug."

"Just one?"

"I thought that's what you wanted?"

"I was really hoping for a more, you know, _regular_ arrangement."

"How regular?"

"Once a day would be nice."

"Please remember I am not a hippy."

"Ok, how about once a week?"

"How about once a year" Rush countered.

"Year! Please be reasonable Rush! I can get a yearly hug from TJ, I need something more than once a year."

"Fine then once a month it is."

"Once a week would really be better."

"Not for me."

"If you agree to weekly hugs I'll get out of your shower" Young said as sweetly as he could.

"Blackmail? Brilliant, and it only took you five years to think of this plan."

Young smiled, knowing he was between Rush and the door.

"Fine" Rush said through gritted teeth, "Once a week it is." He offered Young a handshake, which Young took before moving in to collect his first hug.

"Get off!" Rush yelled, shoving Young away so hard he fell on his bum.

"I thought we agreed on once a week!" Young wailed from the floor of Rush's formerly private shower.

"And I am a man of my word on that Colonel" Rush replied, "Just not HERE. Ok."

Young smiled. It was nice to have something to look forward too.

(O)

Author's note: _I feel like I should apologize for this chapter. Clearly I have a hug fetish or something. I'm not however apologizing for trying, however unsuccessfully, to give Rush a shower scene. You're welcome Dearies._


	5. The Christmas Jumper

_Fifteen years later…_

"Did you try shutting the program down and then rebooting?"

"Don't you think that was the first thing I tried?!"

"Well have you tried just asking Destiny nicely?"

"No, I haven't tried that, Brody" Eli said, "Because Destiny is a SHIP and I'm not a crazy person."

"I think Rush talks to the ship sometimes" Volker put in.

"Again, crazy person" Eli reiterated, "It's no good; we're just going to have to find him."

"Find Rush? On Destiny?" Brody asked, "On Destiny, the ship he's spent the last twenty years of his life exploring?"

"Yes Brody", said Eli, "That Destiny."

"Yeah good luck with that one" Volker chimed in.

"Come on Brody," Eli said ignoring Volker, "We'll try his crazy hall first…"

"Or you know maybe his room?" Brody said.

"I'm pretty sure crazy people don't sleep" Eli replied, "But sure if you want to just waste our time, why not? We'll try his room first..."

()

"It's locked."

"Of course it's locked" Eli said, "Rush's room is always locked, whether he's in it or not. Ring the bell again."

"It's not really a bell, more of a chime or a chirp…"

"Whatever Brody, just do it again would you."

Brody rang the 'doorbell' again. And again. And again, "I'm pretty sure he's not in there" he said.

"Fine" Eli said, "We'd better call Young, he's known Rush a lot longer than we have now. Maybe he can tell us where Rush is hiding."

Reluctantly Eli pulled his radio out of his pocket, "Colonel Young, this is Eli."

After a short pause Young replied, "_This is Young. What's up?"_

"Oh pretty much the same as always" Eli replied, "We need Rush and we can't find him."

"_Did you try his room_?" Young asked, "_I had TJ order him to bed, he looked like he hadn't slept in days and I didn't want him to make himself ill_."

"We just tried his room and he didn't answer."

"_Trust me; if he's not on the bridge or in the control room, he's there_. _Now what is this about? I trust it must be pretty important for you to be willing to drag a six-nine year old man from his bed_."

"He's only sixty-nine?" Brody asked.

Young paused, "_No wait, maybe that's me. It all seems to have muddled together over the years. Now, Do I need to repeat my question?"_

"Um, yeah" Eli said, "It's the ships external sensors, they're acting like they've received a message, but they don't show a source and there is no message. Just static."

"_Hmmm. Well I guess that could be pretty important. You have my permission to wake the Scottish Dragon gentlemen. Good luck. Young out."_

Eli and Brody looked at each other, wondering who would try and get out of this first.

"So, uh," Brody started, "I guess maybe one of us should, you know… knock. Again."

"That sounds like a plan" Eli replied, "You go ahead."

"Me? I was really thinking it should be you. I mean he likes you more."

"No I'm pretty sure he doesn't."

"Do you think we could talk Volker into doing it?"

"No. If we're going to put someone in harm's way it should be Park" Eli said.

"Park?"

"Yeah. I mean even Rush wouldn't murder a blind woman."

"He might if he was in a blind rage."

"Ha ha ha" Eli muttered, moving to Rush's door and knocking lightly.

Nothing.

"Maybe his hearing has failed."

"In the last three hours since we saw him last?"

"It could happen" Brody said.

Eli knocked on the door again, this time harder.

Nothing.

Eli pounded on the door with both fists.

Nothing.

"uh oh" Brody said.

"What?"

"What if he, you know…"

"I know what?" Eli asked.

"You know… died. In his sleep. Old people do that."

"He not _that_ old Brody."

"Still, it could happen."

Brody and Eli looked at each other.

"I'll go get my tools" Brody said, sprinting off down the corridor.

"Good idea" Eli called after him, "I'll start trying to guess Rush's passcode…"

()

_Two hours later_

"I got it!" Brody roared in triumph as Rush's door weezed and slide open.

"Stop gloating" Eli said, "I nearly had his code cracked."

"Sure you did. Just eleven million permutations to go..."

As two of the smartest men on the ship bickered like schoolgirls, Nicholas Rush lay sleeping in his bed, fully clothed of course, to make sure he could be back to work as quickly as human frailty would allow.

"Ah, he's so cute when he's sleeping" Brody said once he and Eli finally decided to share joint credit for getting past Rush's famously hard to bypass lock.

Eli looked askance at Brody, "Personally I would've gone with peaceful."

"Yeah" Brody said, "That's what I meant."

"Sure" Eli replied, adding, "At least he appears to be breathing. That's a good sign."

"Maybe" said Brody, "But what in Hell is that he's wearing?"

"That" Eli replied, "Is possibly the ugliest sweater I've ever seen."

"What is it? It kind of looks like a green alien or something."

Eli squinted and inched closer to the bed, "I think it's meant to be a Christmas tree."

"That is one ugly, scary, angry Christmas tree."

"Yeah, it's pretty much hideous," Eli confirmed, "I Wonder where he got it…"

(O)

_Seventeen years ago…on Christmas Eve_

It hadn't been easy learning to knit from a book he was sure had to have been printed in every language known to man _except for_ English, but with the help of the illustrations he'd finally managed it. One genuine homemade Christmas sweater, complete with Christmas tree and a few loose buttons as Christmas lights: Size small.

Young couldn't be prouder of that sweater and he knew that seeing Rush's big brown eyes widen in surprise on Christmas morning would be worth all the effort he's put into knitting it.

Not to mention the effort that went into locating a fiber that could stand in for yarn. And all the effort that went into crushing perfectly good plants to find out which ones could be adapted into his 'yarn' dyes.

His breath caught in his throat as he pulled the poorly wrapped present out and handed it to Rush, who seemed to have planned to spend Christmas on the bridge. Again.

"What's that?" Rush asked, looking at the lumpy parcel with thinly veiled distaste.

"What's this? It's a Christmas present. For you" Young added, holding the package out.

Rush looked confused.

"It's December? Already?"

"Yeah. It's December _already_", Young rolled his eyes, "and I thought I was supposed to be the dumb one." He thrust the package into Rush's arms.

"But I didn't get you anything" Rush protested.

"So what" Young replied, "You didn't get me anything last year either. Or the year before that. Or in fact the year before that…" Young paused, "Will you just open it already Rush!"

Rush carefully unwrapped the parcel, not wanting to risk further damage to the papers he could now see had been ripped page by page from one of HIS old notebooks.

"It's a…" Rush turned the object in several directions, appearing to have some difficulty ascertaining the exact nature of his present, "a jumper?" he finally guessed.

Young nodded, grinning proudly from ear to ear. "I made it myself."

"I never would've guessed", Rush deadpanned, then added, unbelieving, "I can't believe you knitted me a jumper."

"You could just say thank you, you know."

Rush put the sweater (and his reclaimed notes) under his arm and told Young to wait right there.

Young watched in amusement as Rush trotted off the bridge, only to be astonished when he returned a few minutes later wearing the sweater he'd made and carrying his precious chess set in his arms.

"I uh, I thought maybe we could play a game or two" Rush stammered, "It being Christmas and all."

Young could hardly speak for the shock, finally croaking out, "I'd… I'd love too."

They played not once, not twice, but THREE games that day. Rush won them all of course, but Young knew he'd win one eventually. He'd certainly have the practice time.


	6. Haircuts!

After a few shakes from Mr. Brody, Dr. Rush was now wide awake and cursing Eli and Brody for not waking him the nanosecond the ship received the message. The men had tried to explain their efforts to wake him, which Rush ignored now that he was back where he belonged, on the bridge, thoroughly immersed in the glow of Destiny's screens.

This prompted a few additional suggestions regarding the elderly and hearing loss, which also fell on metaphorically deaf ears, though the other scientists weren't sure that Rush's _ears_ were the real problem. Especially when Rush responded immediately when Brody, Eli and Volker finally quite bitching about _him_ and started talking about the transmission the ship claimed to be receiving.

"It just sounded like some kind of feedback to me" said Brody after he and Eli had finally finished recounting the Adventure of Waking the Grouchy Sweater-Beast of Scotland to Volker.

"Reminded me of the time I spent listening to pulsars back in college" said Volker.

"It's not a pulsar" Rush said, "Nor I think is it feedback. Destiny had it right in the first place, it's a message."

"A message from whom?" Volker queried.

Rush shrugged and returned to his screen, "That remains to be seen" he said, his hands skimming lovingly over Destiny's systems.

(O)

Less than an hour after he'd arrived on the bridge, Rush startled the crew by locking the computer into some kind of diagnostic mode that made all of the other scientists screens suddenly transform into Destiny's version of a screensaver, then announcing to astonishment of the bridge crew, that he needed to '_report his findings to Colonel Young'_.

"Well that's …new" Volker noted as Rush exited without uttering another word on the matter.

(O)

Rush was in such a hurry to impart his news that he hadn't bothered to knock and so was a tad startled to find Colonel Young lying down in bed wearing nothing more than his boxers.

"I'll… uh, I'll go back out again and knock" Rush mumbled, turning on his heel to exit as quickly as possible.

Young shook himself awake and called after him, "I assume given the way you barged in here like you owned the place that you have something important to tell me" he said, "So please come _back in_ here and tell me before I fall asleep again."

Rush turned and slowly reentered the room, as usual avoiding eye-contact.

"Destiny" Rush began, "has detected a signal."

Young groaned, pulled himself upright in bed and placed his pillow behind his head, not quite ready to give up on his nap.

"Go on" he said.

"At first the signal appeared to be nothing more than noise, some kind of mistake on Destiny's part."

"But now?" Young prompted.

"I was able to clean up the transmission using a filter I found…"

"Skip the technobabble and tell me what the message said," Young prompted, "and would you please stop pacing and come sit down by me, I'd like to see your face."

"My face? What does my face have to do with anything?" Rush said, agitated.

"It's the mirror of your soul after all."

"That is the 'eyes', Colonel, not the face."

"Eyes/face whatever" Young teased, "I want to see your face because _I_ know you can't hide anything from me when I'm looking at you."

Rush stubbornly kept his back turned.

"You know, when you lie you always look away or turn your back on me because you know, you KNOW, that I can see every emotion that flashes across that expressive little face of yours."

Rush slowly turned around and raised his eyes to meet Young's gaze, Young saw the familiar flash of anger, the irritation at having lost, in some way, the upper hand he always felt he had to have, until slowly his features softened into the tired lines Young had come to think of as his 'real' face.

Young patted the bed on his left hand side and scooted over slightly to make room for Rush to join him.

"Ok Rush," Young said, making sure he kept eye-contact, knowing that Rush was probably dying to look away and retreat once more behind his walls of practiced pragmatism, "Tell me all about it, from the beginning…"

(O)

Once he'd started, the story the day's events thus far came pouring out of Rush at near record speed (for Rush anyway), he told the Colonel about being woken up from a sound sleep by Brody and Eli.

"So they really thought you were deaf?" Young asked, laughing.

"I think at first they thought I was dead" Rush responded, "It wasn't until they'd turned their backs that I finally took out the earplugs."

"Didn't I tell you they would help you sleep?"

"That you did," Rush said, "though if you recall you didn't give them to me for sleeping..."

(O)

_Fifteen years ago…_

"Hold still will you!" Young hissed, as Rush squirmed under his hands like a naughty five-year-old.

"I told you I hate those things" Rush complained as his head jerked to one side every time Young let the electric clippers get too close to his ears.

"Or maybe it's just that you still don't trust me" Young replied.

"Well maybe I don't!" Rush shouted, jumping up from the chair and yanking the towel he'd been wearing off, scattering long brown and grey hairs in every direction.

"Great" Young said disgusted, "See what a mess you've made and all I was trying to do, is to do YOU a favor. Your hair was nearly down to your waist Rush."

"Maybe I liked it that way" Rush sulked, "Too long is one thing", he said, "but look at what you've done to me, I look like a… a …"

"Like a soldier" Young finished.

"Exactly."

"Well I'm sorry Rush, but as it happens, I didn't go to beauty school, I went to boot camp, and if YOU'D ever gone to boot camp, you would know, that THIS is pretty much the only haircut they teach."

Rush stared at his own sullen reflection. _A buzz cut! I can't believe I let him do this to me. My hair was fine the way it was!_

"All I wanted was a trim" he sulked.

"Well at least now you won't need another one for a long, long time" Young reminded him, adding sternly, "Now sit your butt back down in this chair and let me finish cleaning your neck! It looks awful, you've got stray hairs sticking every which way and a damned bare patch from the first time you jerked your head away from me."

Rush studied his toes, which were bare at the moment since he'd been planning on jumping into the shower directly after this, "I can't stand that sound so close to my ears" he finally admitted.

"The sound? It's just an old-fashioned electric trimmer Rush. It's not like I'm going to accidently whack off an ear, besides" he added, "I kind of like your ears."

Rush instinctively put his hands over his ears.

"Look," Young said, "If I lend you a pair of my ear-plugs, would that make this thing go more smoothly? Because I do NOT want to have to go through this every five years for the rest of your natural life…"

"Why my natural life?! What makes you think _I'm_ going to die first?"

"Why? Because #1 – you're older than me and #2 – you admitted you've been smoking since you were like fourteen..."

"Well I recently quit" Rush said through clenched teeth, "and we're practically the same age" he reminded him, "Plus everybody knows smaller people live longer because WE have efficient bodies, not so much area to look after. Speaking of which," he added maliciously, "you Colonel, are getting a _gut_."

Young sucked in his stomach reflexively, "Oh and I suppose you think I should be just like you, skipping half my meals, even when a kind and caring person has taken the trouble to haul a plate all the way up to the bridge so that your scrawny ass doesn't have to lose a whole _ten minutes_ of work time to walk down to the mess hall and fetch it yourself!"

"Well if it's so inconvenient to you and your very _busy_ schedule, Colonel, then I release you from any obligation you may feel to feed me," Rush bellowed, "while _I_ work 20 hours a day to keep this ship moving and to keep your _tubby_ arse from freezing!"

Young shouted after Rush's narrow profile as it stomped out the door, "Fine go ahead and walk around looking like a mental patient! See if I ever volunteer to cut your hair again…"

Young broke off, realizing he was now talking to himself, "Damn it," he groaned, "Now who am I going to get to cut _my_ hair?"

(O)

Young tried to shake off the sleepy memories and focus on what Rush was saying, "Did you just say, _Hebrew_?" he asked.

"Yes Colonel, I said Hebrew" he confirmed, "At least that's what it sounded like to me once it had been cleaned up."

"But how?" Young began, "Why? And most importantly, do you have any idea what the message says?"

"I don't know how and I don't know why, Colonel" Rush said, "but thanks to the translation program I found in the computers anthropological software…"

"The what now?"

"You can thank Dr. Jackson for this one, Colonel. It would seem he got tired of being the only person available to translate the ancient texts found off-world, so he invested a great deal of effort into creating a translation matrix that could do most of the work for him."

"Most?"

"The system isn't without its flaws" Rush admitted, "after all many of the texts are from civilizations that evolved on others world, even if the people did originate from ancient Earth, but it's the best resource we have in this manner."

"Just tell me what the translation is Rush."

"Well as I said there is a substantial margin of error" he hedged, "after all…"

"RUSH!" Young bellowed.

"It seems to be a warning" Rush said, "Something along the lines of 'turn away or die'. Or some phase to that effect."

"Great. Just great…" Young muttered, slowly sliding back into bed. He should really be allowed more nap time at his age.


	7. Voting and 'girly' planets

They were less than three days away from the heart of the universe. Every data fragment on the subject in Destiny's database pointed to this spot as the origin of whatever structure existed before time, at least time as we know it, began.

Only three days away from the answers they'd waited so long for, had sacrificed so much for, and here they were hanging in space like a misplaced Christmas ornament.

"Are you telling me we're stuck here?" Young asked, his eyes scanning the bridge to assess the mood of his crew.

"Not 'stuck' exactly" Park replied helpfully, "I mean we could move if we wanted to, it's just that it isn't a good idea."

"Because of the 'Phantom Menace'?" Young

"Well we haven't officially decided on the name yet" Eli said, looking downcast that his suggested name for the flaming object that had nearly ripped through Destiny minutes earlier, only to disappear from their scanners like it had never even been there in the first place, hadn't been met with the enthusiasm he'd hoped for.

"We're really not even sure what it was", Volker said, "My first guess was that it was some kind of comet."

"I t wasn't a comet," Rush said, "I think it was our second warning."

"Our _second_ warning?" Eli repeated.

"The first was the message we received some hours ago" said Rush, as he shooed Volker out of his seat and began deftly pressing buttons until the message, now sounding somewhat less like static played over Destiny's com.

Gentle sound flooded the bridge as the message played on a loop. Now that the static had been removed the non-randomness of the sound astounded those who had heard it before Rush got his hands on it.

"It almost sounds like … like singing" Park said, breaking the crew's silence.

"Well it most certainly isn't a pulsar" said Volker.

"What is it then?" Young asked.

"It appears to be a message warning us that there is danger ahead" Rush said.

"Like a fiery comet maybe?" Brody asked, "Did it happen to mention that type of thing?"

"The message is not that specific" Rush replied.

"Well what does it say 'specifically'? Brody asked.

"Something along the lines of 'turn back or die'" Young answered.

"You understand that thing?" Eli asked, amazed.

"No of course not" Young replied, "Dr. Rush informed me of the hostile nature of the communication half an hour ago."

Eli was momentarily silenced by knowledge that Dr. Nicholas Rush had actually confided in Colonel Young willingly and _before_ he absolutely had to. The fact the he and Young had spent the better part of twenty years alone together finally sunk in.

"I wouldn't exactly call the message hostile" Rush said, "After all it did warn us of a danger, _warn_, not threaten. At least that's how_ I_ interpreted it."

Rush and Young exchanged a look that said Young wasn't as sure of the alien message's benevolence as Rush was.

"Does it really even matter?" Volker asked, "I mean if that transmission is right then its game over for us. Stay here and die slowly of hunger or suffocation…"

"Hunger first, I'd think" Rush said, "As we've just refueled we should have air long after we cease to need it."

"Or" Volker finished, "we could turn around and start our long long LONG journey home."

"Or we could press on" Rush said.

"Press on?" Brody scoffed, "What do you have a death wish or something? That fireball was huge!"

"And now it's gone" Rush replied, "I can hardly believe a team of _scientists_ would give up on a problem after one failed attempt."

"Well there's failure" Volker said, "and then there's fiery failure of doom."

"Can it Volker" Young commanded.

"All I'm saying" Rush raised his voice over the growing murmurs of the bridge crew, "Is that seeing this mission through is worth taking a few risks. I think we should move forward, _cautiously_ …and see what happens" he looked to Young silently pleading for him to take his side in this.

"It's suicide" Brody muttered.

"Perhaps" Young said, "but I can see Dr. Rush's point. We've come too far to turn back now. I say we go for it."

The bridge erupted in dissention as everybody strove to be heard, it seemed the bridge crew was divided over the issue.

Rush and Young both wanted to move forward with the mission, not matter how great the risk.

The other scientists were far less enthused with that plan; Eli in particular wanted no part of fiery death.

In the end they decided to vote on it.

(O)

_Five years ago…_

"You suggest we _vote_ on it?" Rush repeated, hardly believing what he was hearing. Maybe the loneliness had finally gotten the better of Young, "pfft_" I knew those hugs wouldn't be enough_, he thought, _I should've asked him to swap out with Volker years ago, now there is a man who knows how live without physical affection for long periods._

"How many times do I have to repeat myself Rush?" Young asked, "We can't seem to resolve this issue with debate, so I suggest we do what Americans have been doing for centuries and vote on it."

"I'm Scottish."

"I know that! You do still vote in Scotland don't you?"

"Barely" he muttered.

"So what's the problem?"

"How exactly is that going to work Colonel? Seems to me that your little exercise in democracy could only end in a tie."

Young snapped his fingers, "By Jove I think you're right! _Well_, I guess we'll just have to wait till TJ's awake for our next round of physicals. She can break the tie."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure your girlfriend would be entirely impartial."

"Nonsense Rush, TJ's not my girlfriend, we're just colleagues."

"The woman had your baby Colonel, I'm pretty sure that makes her your girlfriend."

"So what? Chloe had your baby and you still claim she's not _your_ girlfriend."

"Please, let's not bring parallel universes and deleted scenes into this discussion."

"Fine then. How do _you_ suggest we settle this?"

"A general intelligence test should do nicely" Rush said.

Young rolled his eyes, "How about an arm wrestling match?"

"New York Times Crossword" Rush countered.

"Mud wrestling?" Young asked hopefully.

"Sudoku?" Rush sighed, this was getting pathetic.

"Name that show tune?" Young offered.

They finally decided to play chess for it.

The problem was after six hours of glacial chess-play, they'd completely forgotten what they were arguing over in the first place.

(O)

"What were we fighting over back then?" Young asked, as he and Rush sat in his quarters sharing a bottle of Brody's finest as they waited for Scott to tally the results of the ship wide vote on whether or not the mission should go on.

"I believe we were fighting over who got to name the planet we'd stopped at for supplies" Rush said.

"Oh yeah" said Young, "I remember now! The planet with the purple sand beaches and those pink things growing on every tree that tasted like pepperoni… man that was a great day."

"I still say Telford wouldn't have appreciated your naming a girly looking planet like that after him".

"If that planet was so 'girly' how come you spent an entire afternoon lying in purple sand staring at the moons?"

"Because it was fascinating" Rush replied, "the sun was high in the sky and yet the moons were so bright you could see them clearly all day long."

"It was a hell of a sight alright" Young admitted, "I'd hate to be around for high tide though."

Rush actually laughed. It made Young's day.


	8. Plans and picnics

The vote had been close. Forty-two to thirty-nine (with a few abstentions), but the majority had sided with them. The mission would continue. _I hope this was the right way to go_. Young knew for a fact that his decision to stand by Rush and vote with him to keep going had swayed a lot of people, now it was time to see if he'd made the right choice.

_At least it'll probably be quick. _

Young nodded to Mr. Brody and within moments Destiny's engines silently came to life and propelled them slowly forward through the outer edges of what Volker declared was a solar system, though the blue giant star was no more than a distant pinpoint of light at the moment.

"How are we doing so far?" Young asked, leaning forward in his command chair like was trying to get a better view.

"Well we seem to have avoiding the 'fiery death' situation for the moment" Rush replied.

"Yeah, why is that?" Eli asked, "I mean if the aliens took the trouble to warn us, then I'm sure it must be pretty bad."

"Perhaps its orbital trajectory has taken it out of this area for the immediate future" Rush said, "Comets have been known to take centuries to complete a single orbit and this system in particular seems to have a very powerful star at its center."

"Or it could just be hiding behind that asteroid belt up ahead" Volker added.

"Steady as she goes Mr. Volker" Young said, "we don't want to bump into any of these rocks any more than we want to get slammed by that comet."

"Here, here" said Brody.

"Rush, talk to me" Young said, "I need to know what we're looking for, have you pinpointed the origin of the ancient 'structure' or whatever the Hell it is?" Rush acted as if he hadn't heard.

"RUSH!"

"I haven't been able to pinpoint _anything_ yet!" Rush replied testily, "This system seems to have only one planet. The signal MUST be coming from there."

"Or there could be another planet _behind_ the sun" Volker offered, "The interference is so strong that our instruments wouldn't notice if there was a fleet of Borg cubes back there."

*crickets*

The temporary silence was broken by Eli shouting, "Thank you!" to Volker, though absolutely nobody deigned to acknowledge his enthusiasm at finally NOT being the guy making Sci-Fi references that nobody cared about.

"Maybe we should take the scenic route and check for other planets before we decide to head for this one" said Brody.

Young looked at Rush.

Rush said, "We could, but of course there is still the possible danger of the comet. As Mr. Volker was kind enough to point out, we have no way of knowing what is on the other side of that sun and we could well be risking a collision if we amble aimlessly around this system for too long."

Young turned back to Brody, "Is there a stargate on the planet by any chance?"

"If there is we're not getting an address in our system" Brody replied.

"Can we take a shuttle" Young asked.

"We should be able to do that" Rush replied, he paused, then added, "but you should be aware that there seems to be a great deal of debris around the planet, possibly the remnants of a destroyed moon."

"Like the rings around Saturn" Volker offered, "Gravity from the planet's spin keeps them near the equator, which should leave us a fairly clear path as long as we keep clear of the belt."

"Do we know what kind of planet it is?" Young asked, "Can it sustain human life?"

Brody shrugged, "Well it's in the Goldilocks zone and it _does_ have an atmosphere, whether or not you'd want to take a picnic lunch down there is something we won't be able to tell until we get a bit closer to the planet."

"Ok", Young said, "does anybody have a picnic basket prepared just in case?"

"I uh, I can get one in a jiffy" Park offered.

"Sounds like a plan to me" Young said, turning to Brody, "Ok Mr. Brody, take us in closer to the picnic planet, as quickly as you safely can please."

Brody looked up as the expectant crew waited for him to fly them through the asteroid belt safely, "Um, maybe it would be a good idea to get Chloe up here, you know just in case."

Young smiled, "Consider it done Mr. Brody."

As Brody released a sigh of relief, Colonel Young leaned back in his command chair and decided to indulge in one of the few luxuries old age had actually brought him and take a nap in his favorite chair.

(O)

_Five years ago…_

Young reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a bottle of Brody's finest, the last as it happened. He'd told Rush it was all gone years ago, he'd been hoarding it to celebrate when they finally reached the end of their mission. But he'd be damned if he'd miss out on a perfect day like today and besides once they reached the end of the line, wherever or whenever that may be, all he had to do was to wake up Brody and put him back to work on a new vintage.

He looked over his shoulder to see Rush was right where he'd left him (for once), flat on his back on the pristine purple sand, his hands clasped under his head, staring at the moons. The moons that were so bright due to some complicated reflection or was that refraction? process that Young could barely follow, that you could see them clearly even in daylight.

Young smiled and removed two cups from the picnic basket, pouring a small measure into each one. Then he sat down next to the moon-eyed scientist and waved the cup under his nose.

Rush sat up so quickly he almost knocked the cup out of Colonel Young's hand.

"What?"

"Its booze Rush."

"Where did you…?"

"My secret stash."

"Why?"

"Because this is the nicest day I've had in fifteen years and I wanted to share my good mood with someone I care about."

"Who?"

"You! You daft Scot!" Young bellowed, "Now do you want this drink or don't you?!"

Rush licked his lips, his eyes never leaving the cup, "I guess I could stand a wee dram."

"That's what I figured" Young said, handing the cup to Rush who after his first sip had reminded him how truly awful Brody's alcohol tasted, drained the cup in one long tight swallow, followed by a low grunt of satisfaction as he lay back down and began to enjoy the moons even more than he had a couple of minutes ago.

Young smiled, tipping back his own cup full before taking a spot next to Rush on the sand to gaze at the moons. They were even more beautiful then he remembered from his first sight of them when he'd come through the stargate alone to forage for supplies. Finally after twelve crates of pink pepperoni fruit had been sent back through the stargate along with constant comments about how pretty the place was, he'd talked Rush into making a day trip of it. No mission, no work, no rehashing old battles. Just a day to enjoy some of the wonders the universe had to offer them. For as long as Rush could stand to leave Destiny alone.

They ended up drinking the whole bottle even though Young had intended they take only a sip or two each. He wasn't sorry.

They'd talked about moons until even Rush ran out of techno-babble to spout.

They'd fought over whom to name the planet after.

They'd laughed over Rush's attempts to re-build Brody's still. Attempts that never seemed to work properly despite Rush's so-called 'superior' intellect, in fact his last attempt had left his test subject, one Colonel Everett Young so violently ill that he'd had to wake Lt. Johansson prematurely in order to tend to him and after a ultimatum from Young that absolutely did NOT culminate in one grown man putting another one over his knee and spanking him the moment he said man had managed to rise from his hospital bed. (at least that's how _Rush_ tells the story). Rush had decided to become a reluctant teetotaler.

Then again, exceptions could always be made for picnics.


	9. The Lonely Planet

In the end Brody managed to get them through the asteroid belt without Chloe's help, though she had been hovering nearby just in case. But his self-satisfied smile died when they finally got close enough to the lone planet to see what the 'ring' around it was really made of.

Brody and Eli beat Volker at best two out of three in rock paper scissors so in the end it was Volker who had to wake Colonel Young to tell him that the planetary ring wasn't made up of moon debris.

"Ships?" Young repeated, still slightly adrift in a day-dream about his picnic on the beach with Rush.

"Aye Ancient seed ships to be precise" Rush said as he entered looking bright-eyed and wide awake despite the hour, which for some reason irritated Young as he watched Rush absent-mindedly nudge Eli aside to commune with his beloved console.

"What happened?" Young asked, "Did the comet get them? Is something from the planet preventing them from…"

"They weren't destroyed at all" Rush replied studying the data closely, "They don't appear to have suffered any damage whatsoever. I believe they simply decided to… stop here and wait."

"Wait for what?" Young asked.

"For us!" Lisa said cheerily, "They've been waiting for us!"

Rush shrugged, "More likely they were waiting for The Ancients to arrive, but under the circumstances I think we'll simply have to do."

By now Young could see that Rush was smiling and if wasn't for the rest of the crew being there he was sure this would be a hugging situation.

"Hey Eli," he said, "I need you Park, Brody and Volker to go and prep the spacesuits for an unknown environment …and while you're at it, have Scott and Greer get the shuttle ready for a little trip."

"No problem!" Eli said.

His happy prattling could still be heard on the bridge as the scientists exited.

Young rose from his command chair and started towards Rush who accepted his hug and even pulled him in tighter, clapping him on the back as the two of them danced around the bridge giddy as schoolboys, laughing until tears came to their eyes.

"Would the two of you like to be alone?"

Both men froze mid-jig before slowly turning to see that Chloe was still on the bridge.

Rush shoved Young away, pulled down lightly to straighten his Christmas jumper and then folded his hands in front, giving Chloe a look that said 'I dare you to laugh. I just bloody dare you'.

Young just ran his hand through his unruly white curls and said, "I uh, didn't see you there Chloe."

"Yeah, I figured that out on my own" she said.

"Congratulations" Rush said.

"We were just _celebrating_" Young said using his best diplomat voice, "It's been a very long voyage, longer for some of us than others and it just sort of …happened."

"What the dancing and the hugging and the laughing?" she asked, "Or have you two become…"

Rush snorted, "I assure you Miss Armstrong it is absolutely NOT what you're thinking."

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" she asked.

"Yeah" Young chided Rush, "you were awfully quick to jump in and deny that we're in any kind of a relationship. Are you familiar with the phrase 'the lady doth protest too much'?"

"Are you calling me a lady?" Rush fumed, advancing on Young in a less than huggable manner.

"I was only going to ask if you two were friends now" Chloe said as she exited the bridge to avoid getting too heavily involved in this story.

Young and Rush watched her as she left the bridge.

"Do you think she'll tell Scott about this?" Young asked.

"If I was you" Rush said, "I'd be more worried about her telling TJ". Then without another word he turned back, as always, to his true love, _Destiny_.

(O)

When Young arrived at the shuttle bay with Rush in tow he found Scott and Greer already suiting up.

"Actually" Young told them, "I think I'd like to make this run myself."

Scott blinked. "You mean you want to fly the shuttle Sir?"

"That's right."

Scott looked at Greer hoping for support and finding none as Greer remained at attention, eyes forward and without a hint of an expression to tell anyone how he really felt about this situation.

"But Sir," Scott said, "I don't think you should risk yourself like this, let me take Rush down to the planet. I mean at your age…"

"What exactly do you have to say about my age _lieutenant_?!" Young demanded.

"I notice he doesn't sound too concerned about _my_ age or _my_ safely" Rush muttered.

"I just meant Sir" Scott stammered, "That this mission could be dangerous and Greer and I are in top physical form…"

"Meaning I'm what? Decrepit?"

"No Sir! Not at all. I was merely saying that Greer and I would be better able to face any danger that Dr. Rush might face down there."

"Face, find or _create_" Greer added.

"Look son, we still have three spacesuits don't we."

"Yes Sir, I mean we did have when I went into stasis Sir."

"We still do" Young said, "If it will make you feel better you can come with Rush and I down to the planet and keep an eye out for any bug-eyed aliens that might be waiting, but let me make one thing plain to ALL of you", he said, "Rush and I are BOTH going to see this thing through and frankly, I think we've _earned_ that right. Is that understood?!"

"Yes Sir" Scott and Greer chorused.

"Alright then, let's get going… RUSH!" he bellowed having noticed that Rush had put down his satchel to take a seat on a nearby crate.

"What?" Rush replied testily, "I was starting to think I would die of old age before you two apes finished beating your chests over who would get the _honor_ of escorting an old man to meet his destiny."

"Destiny Rush? Really?"

"In case you haven't noticed Colonel, I have devoted the better part of three decades to this mission now. I don't see why I should have to wait another minute while you…"

"Excuse me Rush, but in case _you _haven't noticed, _I_ have devoted a Hell of a lot of years to this mission too and right now the only one delaying that mission is you, so if you would please…" Young pointed at the open shuttle door.

Rush rose slowly from his seat and marched onto the shuttle, but not before throwing one last look of displeasure at Colonel Young.

"Lot a, lot a work" Young muttered as he followed Rush onto the ship.

"Hey" Brody called as they disappeared into the shuttle, "Don't you want to take the spacesuits?"

(O)

The shuttle ride through the planet's atmosphere was smooth and uneventful, unfortunately the shuttles sensors didn't have any more luck than Destiny's in breaking through the interference to get an accurate picture of the environment they were about to step into.

The only information they had to choose a landing site was the visual through the shuttle window.

"Head for the green bit" Rush instructed, "the bit that doesn't quite match the rest of the terrain."

Scott did as instructed, landing them near the edge of the 'green bit' with only a mild thump to signify their arrival on this alien world.

After Young instructed Scott that he was to stay with the shuttle, all three men fastened their helmets and engaged the suits life support systems.

At a nod from Colonel Young, Scott opened the shuttle door.

What they saw was the most beautiful sight they'd seen since they left Earth.

"It's a… garden" Young said.


	10. 1 Fruit, 2 Fruit, Red Fruit, Blue Fruit

Young: _"But what does that even mean?"_

Rush: _"We're talking about a level of order, present at the very beginning of space time that goes beyond anything we ever conceived. I believe that the more we learn, the more pieces Destiny uncovers, then the greater our power to control everything around us will be."_

Young: _"So it is about power."_

Rush: _"Yes Colonel. Power to change things …control our fate …right the wrongs…"_

Young: _"To play God."_

Rush: _"No! To gain greater understanding."_

Young: _"What the Hell do you want from me?"_  
Rush: _"I want you to work with me! Together. Side by side for the benefit of everyone."_

Young: _"It'd be a Hell of a lot easier if you stopped keeping secrets."_

Rush: _"It's fair to say we've had our differences, but that ends today. You have my word."_

Young: _"Oh man, you are A LOT of work."_

- SGU "The Greater Good"

"A garden?" Rush repeated, "_This_" he indicated the green landscape densely populated with fruit bearing trees and plants all growing amidst nearly waist deep grass, "is hardly my idea of a garden. A garden should look plowed and weeded and well kempt, this looks more like an overrun orchard."

"Well I'd stay away from the apples if I was you" Young quipped.

"Not a problem at all," Rush replied, "Especially as there _are_ no apples on these trees as far as I can see".

Though every tree and bush in site seemed to nurture some kind of fruit, none of them looked familiar. "_Maybe we should've brought Greer after all_" Young thought, "_It'll take TJ weeks to test all of these edibles for toxins"._

Before they'd gone three yards from the shuttle, at a relatively slow pace in the cumbersome spacesuits, Rush stopped in his tracks and before Young could stop him he'd removed his helmet and taken a deep breath.

Young could've strangled him. But at least it appeared he wasn't dropping dead on the spot from a toxic atmosphere.

With no way to yell at Rush now that he'd removed his helmet, Young quickly released his own so that he could throw it at Rush's head, "I thought you said you couldn't get any readings through the signal's interference pattern!" he bellowed, thinking better of throwing his helmet at Rush. After all it could damage the helmet.

"I couldn't" Rush said, "But there seemed little point in continuing this hike in these spacesuits. The trees ahead are so closely packed that you'll be lucky to get through them even without the spacesuit."

Young clamped down a howl of frustration and instead said a prayer to whoever might be out there to thank them for watching over the lost and the lunatics of this universe.

As he and Rush removed the rest of their spacesuits, Young noticed something, "Why are you still wearing your Christmas sweater?" he asked.

"Because the ship gets chiller every year" was Rush's terse reply.

"Well we're not on the ship now" Young said.

"Well maybe this _planet_ feels chilly!" Rush countered.

But it didn't. The temperature was actually well …perfect and the air felt crisp and clean without even the dullest hint of the smoke and pollution Young remembered from Earth or the stink of human sweat that often permeated Destiny.

"It smells divine" Scott called, "Whatever it is."

Young spun around to see that Lieutenant Scott had also seen fit to remove his helmet, "Just stay with the shuttle lieutenant and leave the smelling to the old farts" Young shouted. "And who told you YOU could remove your helmet?"

"Rush didn't…"

"Never mind what Rush did or didn't do, lieutenant" Young said, "Just stay with the shuttle as ordered and we'll call you if we need you."

()

After returning the suits to Lieutenant Scott in the shuttle, Rush and Young continued on into the unknown. Without the suits the going was considerably easier Young had to admit as he faithfully followed Rush as he stalked off into the increasingly dense foliage, taking samples from trees and soil every few yards and testing them with a kit he'd tucked into Young's backpack when he wasn't looking.

"I wondered why this damn thing was so heavy all of a sudden" Young said, "I figured I was just getting old."

"Well you are the younger man after all" Rush reminded him as he easily kept ahead of the Colonel, without a heavy pack to encumber him.

"A few lousy months" Young muttered, "Hardly means I should be your pack mule."

"You could've sent Greer" Rush reminded him.

"Did you really want me to send you down into this forest ALONE with Greer?"

"No" Rush admitted, turning to face the Colonel, "I'm glad it was you."

"Thank you Rush" Young said, surprised, "that is quite possibly the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

Rush frowned, "You're not going to hug me again are you?"

"Twice in 24 hours?" Young replied, "I wouldn't dare."

"Good choice" Rush said, returning his attention to the sample he was currently testing."

"Have you found anything?" Young asked.

"Nothing but healthy nutrient-rich soil and equally healthy and nutrient-rich fruit" Rush said, "In fact I'd say we could get all the nutrients we needed to survive indefinitely here by simply eating a selection of fruit every day."

"That's nice" Young replied, hoping Rush couldn't hear his stomach growling. "Do we know yet if any of this is safe to eat?"

"It's hard to say without a detailed chemical analysis" Rush replied, "But I've detected nothing harmful with the limited tests I was able to bring with me."

"So it would be ok if I…"

"Took a bite? Dear me Colonel, weren't you the one warning me just a few hours ago to stay away from the apples?"

"Do you see any apples?" Young asked looking around them at the various brightly colored offerings of the orchard, "Because I sure don't."

"You do realize of course, Colonel that the 'apple' itself didn't appear in the original Eden myth at all" Rush said unknowingly slipping into his lecture voice, "No specific fruit was ever named and in fact many scholars believe the mythical fruit was far more likely to be a pomegranate."

"But still mythical right?"

"Right."

"So you're not at all shaken by the fact that we've traveled trillions of miles, sacrificed more than twenty years of our lives, all the time following some impossible signal, which indicated an impossible structure of some kind that existed before the universe itself, all of it leading us here to this orchard which just so happens to be filled with the exact kind of food and water and air we need to survive and you're not even a little bit awed by that?"

"I agree that it's all very _convenient_" Rush said, "But the very fact that this environment is so perfect for our needs leads me to the conclusion that it _was _in fact designed for us, which therefore leads me to the further conclusion that we have been lead here all along by some kind of superior race, for currently unknown reasons. Possibly the same alien race that created the planet we left Dr. Caine and the others on. You remember the planet that shouldn't have been there."

"If you recall, Rush, Dr. Caine seemed to think _God_ created that planet" Young said.

"It is a well-established fact" Rush said, "That _less advanced_ species often mistake more advanced species for gods. Or did you miss the SGC's long standing battle against the Goa'uld?"

"All right Professor" Young said, "What's your plan?"

"My _plan_ is" Rush replied, "that we go ahead and eat one piece of fruit each" he said, reaching up to pluck a fruit each from two entwining trees and handing one of them to Young. "There" he said, "Now we'll both eat some fruit and if you drop dead then we'll know not to eat the blue fruit and if I die then we'll know not to eat the red fruit."

"I noticed you assigned _me_ the fruit that looks like an Easter egg that got left in the blue dye too long, while you get that relatively normal looking red finger thing" Young pouted.

"I assure you Colonel; my tests say these fruits are _equally_ healthy."

"Your tests are also incomplete" Young reminded him, "There are still thousands of unknown toxins that could be lurking in these that your tests would never find."

"Colonel" Rush chided taking a huge bite of his fruit, "Where's your faith?"

Young hoped he wouldn't regret this. Wordlessly he brought the blue egg fruit to his mouth and took a bite.


	11. Trees and more trees

It had been at least an hour since they ate the alien fruit and so far Young hadn't felt any ill effects, and neither had Rush, at least that was he was claiming. In fact Young felt great. He realized that hadn't truly felt _full_ since the last supper they'd had just before entering the stasis pods for their collective three year nap. In fact he felt so good that he started to whistle.

"Stop that bloody racket immediately" Rush hissed.

"Damn it Rush, couldn't you lighten up for once?"

"I'm light enough thank you."

"All I _meant_, is that this is a beautiful day on a beautiful planet and there is no harm in letting that crusty façade of yours crack a little bit. Just stop for FIVE minutes Rush and enjoy the day. Just five lousy minutes" he paused then added, "I promise I won't tell anyone."

Rush must've decided that was a good enough offer because he stopped, set his equipment down and started looking around at the clearing they were currently in, instead of just forging on in a straight line towards The Signal. He didn't look precisely happy about this delay, but it appeared that he was at least trying to make the best of it. _For my sake,_ Young suddenly realized.

"You know" Young said as he took his place beside Rush, "I don't think I really care anymore."

"Why?" was all Rush had to say.

"Don't know" Young said, "I just feel like whatever is going to happen will happen. I'm done worrying."

"What happened to the man who spent the first two hours of our journey counseling me to be cautious of this place?" Rush asked.

"Oh I still think this place is halfway between impossible and crazy, but whatever it is, I don't feel like it has bad intentions."

"Bad intentions?" Rush repeated, "Did you just implicate that you didn't think _the planet_ has bad intentions?"

"Well not the planet exactly" Young hedged, "I'm just getting, you know, good vibes from the place."

"Good vibes? Colonel Young are you _sure_ that blue fruit you ate hasn't affected your mind?" Rush teased.

"Always a possibility" Young admitted.

Rush took a deep breath in, raised his arms over his head and stretched out his back. Young observed a gentle breeze tugging at Rush's still too long white hair. _He should've let me cut it last week when I asked_, he thought, resisting the urge to run his fingers through the lose strands as they danced around his face.

Rush must've noticed that he was staring at his hair, because he turned abruptly out of the wind. _He's so damn sensitive about that hair_, _he thinks it's too thin in front_, Young unexpectedly thought and he couldn't help letting out a low chuckle at the sudden realization that even the great Nicholas Rush was subject to simple vanity.

"Break over" Rush declared as he stooped to retrieve his equipment and then bolted through the gap into the next clearing without waiting for Young. Then again he rarely did.

_Was he blushing?_ Young wondered as he followed Rush deeper into the grove.

(O)

The next clearing had been the same as all the others they had found and so had the next one and the one after that. Rush kept insisting that the signal was getting stronger, but Young was starting to wonder if the whole thing was some kind of maze designed to keep them scurrying around like laboratory mice looking for the cheese.

He was on the verge of telling Rush this when he heard Rush yelling from somewhere beyond the current clearing. Young sprinted through the trees not caring when the branches clawed at his clothing leaving him with several gashes and a uniform that would need mending. Again.

The only thing he was aware of is that Rush was or at least _could be_ in danger.

As it turned out the only danger that Rush was in at the moment was provided by Young barreling into him at top speed as he stood with his back to the tree line Young had just emerged from.

Once Young had finally managed to disentangle himself from the screaming swearing Scotsman he'd just flattened, he looked around wondering what the Hell Rush had been yelling about.

"The tree!" Rush spat through clenched teeth when Young asked him why he'd yelled for him.

"The tree?" Young repeated, "What tree, Rush? There are trees everywhere. This place is lousy with trees!"

"I know!" Rush said, his usual difficult personality amplified to new heights of difficult by his recent experience of being run over by a crazy colonel. "But the interference, the _structure_ that we, that the ANCIENTS were looking for, the signal I've been tracking down for the last four hours… it's all COMING from this _particular _tree." Rush pointed in the direction he'd been looking before he was so rudely interrupted.

Then Young saw it. A tree very much like every other tree they'd seen today, except that this tree, for whatever reason was standing alone. He realized that this was the _only tree_ they'd seen so far that wasn't in a group or an overgrown clump. But that wasn't the only thing that was different about this tree. Aside from that fact that Rush appeared to be positively entranced by it, Colonel Young noticed one more thing that made his tired old heart skip a beat…

The fruit on this tree was _vibrating_.


	12. Of Flowers and Nudists

Young was sure he could see tears in Rush's eyes as he collapsed at the base of the tree, his small body folding in on itself like an old suit of clothes. He suddenly thought how frail he looked. As if he'd been putting everything he had into making it here to this moment and now that he'd finally achieved his goal, his whole being just seemed to droop.

"Rush… are you ok?"

"I'm fine" Rush finally replied, his voice trembling with more emotion that Young had thought possible for him. "I just needed to catch my breath is all."

Young let the lie pass, "What do we do now?" he asked.

Rush pulled himself back up, using the tree itself for support. "Now we do the only logical thing a person can do when confronted with a magical tree in an enchanted wood" Rush said, as he reached up and plucked one of the oscillating fruits off the tree.

Even separated from its parent plant the iridescent fruit still vibrated.

In a daze Young heard himself yelling at Rush to stop, but it was too late. The fruit was already in his mouth.

(O)

_Nine years ago_

"Are you sure it's this way Rush?" Young asked.

"_Absolutely positive Colonel_" Rush said through the Colonel's radio.

"Damn it Rush if you got me lost just admit it and stop with the know-it-all act" Young bellowed into his radio.

"_No need to shout Colonel" _Rush said_, "According to Destiny the mineral we should be dead ahead in a shallow culvert."_

"Good" Young said, "I'll fill my backpack and be back to the gate in an hour."

"_Colonel it took you nearly three hours to get to your present location" _Rush said,_ "So how do you plan on getting back in only one hour?"_

"I'll be back in an hour Rush, because this time I'll do it without your 'help' which clearly got me lost" Young said, cutting off Rush's protests with a sharp, "Young out!" as he moved to switch off the radio for some much needed silence.

Actually it took Young a little over three hours to get back to the gate, which clearly pleased Rush judging by his arrogant smirk as Young finally stepped back onto Destiny with the supplies they needed strapped on his back.

"What's the matter Colonel? he asked, "Did you get lost?"

"Not exactly" Young said, "It just took a little longer to ford that river than I thought it would and once I'd gotten to the other side and stripped off…"

"Stripped off?" Rush asked with eyebrow raised.

"I'd gotten a little wet crossing the river" Young admitted, "But before you damage your face with too much smirking I think you ought to take a look at these Rush." Dropping his backpack on the deck Young reached in and unwrapped a bundle he'd carefully stowed in the top of his pack.

Rush hesitated, "You uh …picked me flowers?" he finally said.

Young blushed suddenly realizing what this must look like, "They're medicinal" he grumbled, "Good for headaches according to the scanner you gave me"

"For giving them or curing them?" Rush asked.

Young fought the urge to roll his eyes, "Curing" he said through clenched teeth.

"Oh. Ok then. Thanks" Rush said as he took the flowers from Young and the two men stood there in an awkward silence that reminded Young of his first date back in high school.

"No thanks are necessary Rush" he said, "I was just trying to help."

"Yes, well, thanks again Colonel" Rush said, this time leaving promptly, no doubt to take the alien flowers to the medbay to see whether _that_ scanner thought the plants were medicinal or not.

Young hoped he'd been right about those flowers. After all Rush wasn't the only one around here who got frequent headaches.

(O)

_Nine years later_

"That was a damn stupid thing to do!" Young cried, knocking the remaining portion of fruit out of Rush's hand.

"Most sensible thing I've ever done actually" Rush said, "I feel fantastic! It's as if I can feel the universe coursing through my veins. It's so much smaller than we thought Everett."

"Rush" Young said, as he grabbed the smaller man and tried to pull him away from the tree, "You're not making any sense. Why did you do it? Haven't you got even the foggiest notion of where we are? Do the words 'forbidden fruit' mean anything to you? Doesn't this prove that the stories are true?"

Rush laughed, "Which stories are those Everett? You can't possibly be referring to the fabled 'Garden of Eden'."

"Well what would you call this?" Young demanded, "All this place is missing is a snake! If Scott was here, I'm sure he could prove it to you better than I could."

"Poppycock! All this proves is that all _myths_ may have some basis in reality"

"I wish I could be as sure of that as you are Rush, I really wish I could."

"Ah, but you can" Rush said, looking Young directly in the eye in a way he seldom had allowed before, "All it would take is one little bite". Again Rush reached above his head and plucked one of the strange fruits, which he then held out to Young.

"I'm not eating that" Young declared, again knocking a fruit from Rush's hand.

"Don't be so damn stubborn" Rush chided, "Look at what you're saying no to before throwing the opportunity of a lifetime away. Look!" he demanded raising his hands Young had _just knocked the fruit out _of to catch Young's gaze.

Young felt his heart seize within his chest. These weren't the hands that of the Nicholas Rush he had come to know, the Rush he knew had the hands of an old man, with liver spots and joints too often swollen with arthritis in recent years.

The hands he was being shown now wore the firm healthy flesh of a much younger man.

(O)

Within minutes Young had seen Rush transform from a relatively frail old man pushing seventy into a man Young wouldn't have judged to be any older than twenty-five years old.

"Do you believe me now?" Rush asked from the top of the tree he'd just climbed to show off his new state of being.

"I never doubted YOU Rush" Young said, "It's this fruit that worries me."

"Why should it worry you Colonel?" he asked, "Can't you see all the good it's done me already? And all this from _just one bite_… imagine what eating a whole one could do for us… or perhaps eating two at once. I must conduct experiments! Once I've proven how safe and how good the fruit is, I know you'll join me then, Colonel. I know it."

Rush was so absorbed in his new scientific pursuits that he didn't appear to notice when Young slipped back between the trees and began the long sprint back to the shuttle.

(O)

Scott hadn't reacted to the fantastic nature of the orchard quite as Young had expected. In fact all Scott seemed to hear from Young's tale is that Dr. Rush had ingested some kind of alien fruit that was affecting him strangely. His first thought was that they should go get him and carry him back to the shuttle so they could take him back to Destiny where TJ would surely figure out what was wrong.

"Lieutenant, I'm telling you, it's not just that he's _acting_ strangely, the fruit has _changed_ him somehow. Made him younger, stronger, and it may take more that you and I to get him back here."

Scott looked like he was still stuck somewhere between awed and confused when he asked, "What are your orders Sir?"

"I want you to take the shuttle back to Destiny and bring back an armed military detail" Young said.

"You really think we need that many men just to deal with _Rush_?" Scott asked. And while Scott hadn't directly questioned his sanity, Young sensed that he was still skeptical about all this. But Scott was a good soldier and Young knew he would do as he was told. "I take it you're staying on the planet Sir?" Scott said.

"Yes lieutenant, I'm staying on the planet" Young confirmed, "I'm going to go back and try to reason with Rush and bring him back without force" Young paused, "But lieutenant, if I'm not back here in twelve hours, I want you to lead your team through the wood taking the route I'll mark out for you and TAKE Rush off this planet by _whatever means_ you have to use. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now go and be sure to bring TJ back with you" Young said, "Rush may need medical attention. And tell her to bring tranquilizers, lots of tranquilizers."

(O)

Still trying to devise a solid plan on how to get Rush back to Destiny, Young finally returned to clearing where he'd left Rush only to find that he was longer there.

He approached the tree, but he still could not find any sign of Rush, so Young sat down under the tree and considered his options and what exactly he was going to do to Rush when he found him. He'd just gotten up to the part where he'd put Rush over his knee for another spanking when one of the mysterious vibrating fruit thumped him on the top of his head.

Looking up Young found that Rush wasn't going to be as hard to find as he'd thought. "I suppose you think that was funny" Young roared at the smug face he found grinning at him through the branches.

"I did rather" Rush said from up a tree.

"I'd like to talk to you" Young said to the tree.

"Changed your mind have you?" Rush said.

"You could say that" Young hedged.

"Brilliant!" Rush crowed. Leaves rustled as he began to climb down, executing a perfect backflip off the lowest branch to land right in front of the still seated Colonel Young, "We're going to have so much fun Everett!" he said, his grin stretching from ear to ear.

_Oh boy. This is gonna be an even weirder day than I thought_, Young realized as he looked up the surprisingly well-muscled torso of a now toned and nearly teen-aged Nicholas Rush to the eager young face, still recognizably Rush, though his face had lost all of the well-known lines and his long white hair was now a striking nut brown (though still just as long) and he asked the obvious question, "Uh Rush… why the Hell are you naked?"


	13. Tricks and Treats

Back on Destiny Scott was trying to explain what they'd found on the planet to a crew who, due to the interference the signal had been and still was emitting, hadn't heard from the landing party since they'd left the ship. He was doing fairly well really until he got to the part about the magic tree that made Rush young.

Some of the crew seemed to have difficulty swallowing that, especially when they found out Scott's info was second hand. Camille seemed to think Colonel Young had consumed some kind of hallucinogen and then abandoned Rush to die somewhere in the forest, Morrison was demanding to go down there and try the magic fruit himself, while TJ was just eager to get down there and find out what she could do to help.

As his team readied themselves to board the shuttle Lt. Scott prayed they wouldn't be too late.

(O)

Back on the planet Young was done trying to reason with Rush and had decided to drag him back to the shuttle by force, which wasn't easy considering Rush was now some fifty years younger than he had been a few hours ago and the little bastard was even harder to hold onto without his clothes.

Having lost their latest wrestling match Young sat down on the lush green grass to have a rest while he tried to think of a better way to wrangle Rush.

"You look thirsty Everett" Rush said as he crouched over Young's exhausted form on the grass.

"A gentleman would offer me a drink instead of just stating the obvious" Young replied tersely.

"Why certainly" Rush replied with a grin, returning a moment later with his own nearly full canteen which he handed to Colonel Young.

"Why… are you… so damn… happy… Rush?" Young asked between gulps of water.

"Oh," Rush said as his already disturbingly wide grin spread to Cheshire cat proportions, "You'll know in a few minutes dearie."

Young felt as if heart had just dropped into his boots as his eyes darted from the now nearly empty canteen in his hand to Rush's far too happy expression. "You tricked me. I should have known" Young said, more to himself than to Rush.

Rush shrugged and took a seat beside him, "I _tricked_ you to _save_ you. You were never going to listen to reason."

"You had no right" Young stated weakly.

"Perhaps not" Rush said, "But you WILL thank me for this one day Everett. And soon I hope since I spent the last hour squeezing fruit juice into a canteen for you."

Young was hardly listening anymore as he could already feel his whole body tingling as if every piece of him had fallen asleep at once and yet behind it all he felt an incredible energy building. Frankly it was terrifying.

This had definitely not been a part of his plan.

(O)

Young sat up groggily. His senses told him he must have passed out, but he couldn't tell for how long. The sun on this damn planet never seemed to set.

He didn't see Rush, but he knew he'd been around because the pillow Young had been laying on turned out to be the Christmas sweater he'd knitted for Rush several years ago. _Guess he's not 'chilly' anymore_, Young mused, Come to think of it neither was he. This planet in addition to never gracing them with a sunset also seemed to delight in staying the same 'perfect' temperature 24 hours a day. Not that this place seemed to have days.

Absentmindedly he removed his uniform jacket and dropped it on the grass next to Rush's abandoned sweater. He wasn't about to go as far Rush had and strip down to his birthday suit, though the thought brought back the memory of his own brief campaign to make Destiny a clothing optional vessel. _At least if there is a God, he must have one hell of a sense of humor. _

With that decision out of the way, Colonel Young shifted his focus back to his mission. It was time for him to go out there and catch himself a rogue Scotsman.

(O)

Rush hadn't been _hiding_ precisely, he'd just decided to make a strategic retreat to await the results that the canteen full of fruit juice would have on Colonel Young. After all Young had only ingested the _juice_ of the fruit, several actually (the little vibrating buggers were a damned nuisance to squeeze), while _he_ had eaten the whole fruit, flesh, juice and seeds, so he had no way of knowing which part of the fruit actually produced the pronounced effects of rejuvenation. And knowing exactly how angry Everett Young was capable of becoming (especially where he was concerned) Rush felt it best to watch from a safe distance and from what he'd seen it was clear that the juice itself was enough to encourage the change. Even from this distance his eyes (which admittedly were a great deal younger than yesterday) could clearly see that Young's hair was no longer a mottled steel grey, but deep rich brown in appearance and the easy way he moved around the clearing told him that Young was indeed moving like a much younger man.

Rush sighed contentedly, it was time for him to go back to the clearing and collect that thank you he was owed from Everett Young.

(O)

"I can't believe that you're actually _not_ going to thank me." Rush complained.

"Well you'd better start believing Rush, because I am not about to thank you for this!"

Rush bit his lower lip to hide the pout he felt coming. Instead he opted to try a different tact and held out his arms.

Young didn't budge an inch, "If I didn't even want to _thank_ you, what makes you think I'd _hug _you?"

"Well hugs are kindof your thing Colonel" Rush said with a shrug as he lowered his arms, "It seemed to be worth a try."

"Well try something else" Young growled, but he noted that he was back to being _Colonel_ now instead of the more cloying _Everett_. At least he was sure now that Rush hadn't been taken over by some alien being. It was clearly still Nicholas Rush in there.

"What do you want me to say Colonel? That I'm sorry?"

"It would be a start."

"Well I'm not sorry" Rush said, "I'm not sorry I ate that fruit and I'm not sorry I tricked you into doing the same. Look at yourself Colonel Young. Your face finally matches your name.

Young's hand flew to his face where he felt not the time worn lines he'd gotten used to, but the firm warm flesh of his long ago youth and the hands in front of him might have belonged to a stranger.

He couldn't help smiling.

Rush smirked.

"Ok, so the fruit makes you younger" Young admitted, "But that doesn't change the fact that I don't like it."

"What's not to like Colonel?" Rush asked astonished that anyone wouldn't want this, "This fruit is a gift from the universe! No longer need men grow old and die, no longer need people fear cancer or any other disease. From now on humanity can live forever!"

"And what will we do with it?" Young asked, "What kind of world would be creating by bringing this back to Earth?"

"Paradise."

"Paradise for who?" Young asked, "Do you expect to grow enough fruit for everyone?"

"Eventually yes" Rush said, "Of course the first fruit should go to the scientists and other intellectuals" he added, "Until we've studied it a bit more and can find a way to re-produce it. Why we might even be able to engineer an artificial version that could be mass produced."

"For a price."

"Don't be so cynical Colonel, the price isn't the point. Knowledge is the point."

"So what you believe is that once humanity has the whole death problem licked, we'll just…" Young snapped his fingers "pick up and devote our whole culture to increasing our knowledge? Maybe that's what you would do with your unending life, but what would someone like Scott do? Or Eli?"

"Eli has a brilliant mind Colonel. With enough time…"

"With enough time, Eli Wallace would spend his days making documentaries and playing video games" Young said, "And why the hell shouldn't he? If you've got all the time in the world then you never have to worry about putting anything off, because there will always be time. Our expiration date is what motivates us."

"Maybe you're right and a certain segment of the culture would use this as an excuse to procrastinate" Rush said, "But we can always leave them out of it."

"Are you the one who'll decide who lives and who dies" Young asked, "Or will you be pawning that job off on someone else?"

"I'm not going to be handing out any death warrants Colonel" Rush said, "I'm merely going to be _choosy_ about who will be given the gift."

"How pragmatic of you"

"You'll see Colonel" Rush said, "Someday when you and I celebrate our 100th birthdays together, looking the same way we do today, all your doubts and fears will have long since vanished in the night."

"Do you really think this will last forever Rush? That we'll stay this way for the rest of time? How do you know the fruit won't wear off in another hour or two? Or that we'll be able to live indefinitely? The truth is that you just don't know."

"Oh, but we'll learn Colonel. We'll take some of the fruit back to the ship and… no better! We'll bring some of the crew HERE and have them eat the fruit. Some we'll give the whole fruit, while others will receive just seeds or as in your case juice and we'll study the time it takes them change and get a better understanding of the fruit before we leave here."

"What makes you think I'd allow you to use my crew as guinea pigs?"

"What makes YOU think you can stop me Colonel?"

"I never had a problem stopping you before."

"I'm much more than I was then Colonel" Rush said, "You can't stop me."

"Oh know?" Young replied, "I'm at least 40 or 50 years younger than I was this morning Rush… thanks to you. What makes you think I can't kick your ass all over this planet now?"

"I'm just as young as you are Colonel! Younger."

"Younger maybe" Young agreed, "But that damned fruit didn't make you any bigger now did it?"

Rush advanced on Young's position with anger burning in his enormous brown eyes, "Don't test me Everett! You have no idea what I'm capable of!"

Just as Young was about to remind Rush how easily he'd beaten him black and blue the last few times they had a disagreement, a bolt of lightning slammed into the ground a bare foot from where Young was standing.

"Rush…" Young asked shakily, "just how many of those things have you had?"

"Dozens Colonel, more perhaps, I was feeling quite…ravenous after you left me this morning."

"Rush listen to me" Young said, "I don't like what this fruit or frankly this planet is doing to you. I think we should leave. NOW."

"I'm not going anywhere Everett" Rush said, "and neither are you" he added, as a second bolt of lightning struck what felt like mere inches from where they both stood.

Young was glad his heart was apparently as young and healthy as the rest of him appeared to be, that was too damn close for his taste. He wondered if he could do that lightning trick too, but no matter how much he concentrated on skewering Rush with a bolt of his own, nothing happened. _Damn it, I'm going to have to win this one by outthinking Rush_, Young realized, which was quickly followed by the further thought that he was doomed.

"Don't think I won't kill you this time Rush" Young said, deciding he'd either win this argument or die as bravely as he could.

Rush laughed, not the tight artificial laughter Rush sometimes used to try and appear normal or the short snorts of derision he'd come to think of as the Rush equivalent of a real laugh, but a full stomach hugging body shaker of a laugh he'd probably been holding back for the last 70 years or so.

At least he wasn't throwing lightning bolts at him anymore.

"I'm glad you find this situation funny Rush."

Rush was wiping away tears as his laughter finally subsided, "Perhaps you need a further understanding of just how much this planet has given me Everett" he said, adding, "and just how much it could give you too if you were only willing to take it."

"What are you talking about Rush?"

"Look behind of you Everett" Rush said, "If I can't change your mind, I'm sure there is someone else who can."

Young refused to turn his back on Rush, "I'm not falling for that one; look behind you is the oldest trick in the book." Rush just smiled as he continued to stare into the distance behind Young.

"Colonel Young?"

Young fought the desire to the turn around, this was just another trick of Rush's, he couldn't possibly be here.

That's when he felt the hand come to rest on his shoulder.

"Colonel Young" the impossible voice asked, "Didn't you hear me?"

Trembling Young slowly turned his head so his eyes could confirm what his heart already knew. _Oh God… Riley._


	14. Endings and Beginnings

Riley! How can you… where did you come from? What kind of mind trick do you think you're pulling Rush?"

The by now teen-aged Rush smiled smugly, reminding Young of a kid expecting praise from his papa.

"Excuse me" Riley said as he interposed himself between Rush and Young, "But I don't understand how I got here or what's going on."

"It's… complicated Riley," Young said, hardly able to look in Riley's direction, much less into his eyes.

"Hardly" Rush snorted, "You died and I brought you back. It's as simple as that."

Riley looked terribly confused, "I remember dying," he said, "I remember being afraid, not just afraid of dying, but afraid of dying alone."

Young swallowed back the one memory he truly wished he could forget as the newly undead Riley continued, "Thanks to you Colonel, I didn't have to die alone and I'll always be grateful to you for that."

"And you remember nothing since… since…"

"Since you killed him?" Rush ever helpful filled in.

"I'm not sure I could explain where I've been lately Colonel" Riley continued, "afterwards, after the dying bit I mean, it was like I was floating above my body, watching from the outside, which you'd think would freak me out, but it didn't. I saw you too Colonel Young, you cried for me. Thank you for that by the way. After you left I just sort of faded out and then the next thing I knew… I was here."

Something was very wrong with this planet. Young couldn't put his finger on it, but there was definitely something very creepy about undead Riley. Something Young remembered feeling once before.

"You're welcome by the way" teen-aged Rush said as he popped another piece of youth fruit into his mouth, "Not that I expected thanks or anything."

"You know what" Young said, "Maybe you should stop popping fruit in your mouth and pop that massive pimple on your massive nose first."

Rush didn't seem too worried about his current grooming needs, he just smiled and snapped his fingers, not only vanishing his blemishes, but giving himself a much needed haircut in the bargain, "Better?" he asked, as he ran his hands through his newly shortened locks.

"How did you...wait a minute Rush are you telling me that YOU are responsible for Riley…"

"Coming back from the dead? Yup" Rush nibbled on his next piece of fruit, though where he was producing them from when he currently had no pockets was a mystery to Young. "I would've thought the lightning would've made that obvious. I had no idea you were _this_ slow Everett."

"How could you possibly do that?" Young demanded.

"Oh, I just sort of _whooshed_ him here" Rush replied as fruit juice dribbled down his chin.

"You _whooshed_ him here?" Young repeated.

"Yup whooshed" Rush said, "Though I wouldn't expect a geezer like you to know technical terms like that. But hey, you kill 'em, I bring 'em back. What a team we are."

"Rush" Young asked, "Don't you think you should stop eating those?"

"Why? It tastes brilliant and in case you hadn't noticed it has done wonders for my physique" he paused briefly to flex his muscles (which hardly seemed worth the braggadocio to Young), "and in case you haven't noticed" he continued, "It has also knocked a few years off of both of us."

"A few years?" Young said, wondering if Rush had looked in a mirror lately (which admitted he probably hadn't), "Rush you're shrinking before my eyes! A few minutes ago you had pimples and now you look like you're about to try out for the Vienna Boys Choir or something."

For once it was Rush who looked worried as he looked down at his shrinking body in dismay, "Oh my God! This shouldn't be happening" he squeaked, his voice rising steadily with each word.

"Oh? And why don't you just _whoosh_ yourself big again?" Young asked, "Though in your case 'big' may not be the proper word."

"Again with the jokes!" child Rush cried, "You are always making fun of me! It's not fair!"

"You're not whooshing" Young observed.

Child Rush looked terrified, "It's not working!" he said as tears welled up in his enormous brown eyes.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you ate dozens of those youth fruits before you knew exactly how they worked." Young lectured.

"What do I do now" child Rush wailed.

"Well the first thing I would suggest is that you stop eating the fruit" Young said.

Rush nodded eagerly.

"Next I would suggest you tell me the truth about Riley."

"The truth?" child Rush repeated with downcast eyes.

"Yes, the truth" Young reiterated, "He's like Caine and the others were isn't he."

Child Rush started to cry, "Yes" he admitted, "It was the best I could do! The magic doesn't seem to be able to actually bring a dead person back. I could only reanimate his body. His essence was already gone."

"In a way I'm glad to hear it" Young said as he looked at the now even more confused faux Riley with a mixture of pity and nausea.

"Are you going to kill me now?" child Rush asked between sobs.

"What?!" Young said, "No! Of course I'm not going to kill you Rush. For God's sake you're my best friend! After all this time… didn't you know that?"

Child Rush stood incredulous at this simple revelation of something Young thought a man as smart as Rush should have realized a long time ago.

Young figured now was as good a time as any to indulge in his favorite pastime. Without another word he gathered child Rush into his arms and hugged him until his tears dried on his cheeks as he rubbed his snotty nose on Young's favorite (i.e. only remaining) shirt.

(O)

Now that Rush had become completely portable (not that he was ever really _that_ heavy), Young had little difficulty in carrying him back to the shuttle where they met a very surprised away team. Young could hardly blame them, he had told them to bring tranquilizers and an armored battalion and he shows up with a small child and a dead Sergeant.

Young sighed.

This was going to take a while to explain.

(O)

Over the next few weeks and months Rush slowly started to grow-up again. It wasn't exactly instantaneous but at least he didn't have to go through school all over again and puberty was cut short into one hideously eventfully fortnight that Young for one would never forget (or allow Rush to either). Young himself didn't notice any signs of rapid aging, in fact as far as he could tell he was aging normally, as normally as you can when you're nearly seventy and have the body of 35-40 year old. It wasn't that long before Rush was shaving again and when his hair started turning gray again he had a tendency to glower at Young's unchanged brown locks. Maybe when he finally got back to his natural age Young would tell him about the locked crate of youth fruit he had in his quarters.

Maybe.

As for the crew they weren't sure what to do now. The mission as they knew it was over. Some of the crew, seeing what happened to them on the planet wanted to settle there, some still wanted to go home and they took to visiting child Rush as he grew-up before their eyes, gifts in hand in the hopes that he would _whoosh_ them back to Earth. Lisa Park wanted to get her hands on as many seeds from the various fruit trees as she could to plant in Destiny's newly rebuilt garden. Young allowed a small team to go down and collect samples both for Lisa and for TJ to study.

After a lot of debate the majority decided that they'd had enough of cryosleep and if Young was certain that settling the planet was a bad idea (which he was sure it was) then they'd like a chance to explore the rest of this galaxy and see what it had to offer. Maybe they could find another way home or at least a less dangerous planet to live on. Maybe they'd just stay on Destiny and turn her into a space colony so they could go on wandering between the stars forever.

Young made a mental note to talk to TJ about building a nursery. Hell if he could handle a child sized version of Rush, the children of Destiny had to be a piece of cake.

THE END (for now)

Author's note – This whole story came out of my belief that as much as Rush and Young distrusted and even hated each other at the beginning, in the end they would wind up trusting each othermore than anyone else.

Basically after all the beatings and the drama, they'd become best friends.

I hope some of that came through in my story.

I'm sorry that I mostly dropped the flashbacks of Rush and Young during their twenty year self-isolation in the last few chapters. I just wanted to get the main storyline wrapped up. But I still want to write some more about that part of the story and when I do I'll either splice them into previous chapters or add them as post-script chapters.

Thank you for reading my story.


	15. 20 yrs later addendums - Baby Rush

_Twenty Years Later Addendums 'Baby Rush'_

"And I'm telling YOU he did it deliberately!" Camille fumed.

"Of course he didn't Camille, he's just a baby." Young did his best to reason with the woman, but he could already tell this was an argument he was going to lose.

"Well I won't be helping you take care of him anymore" Camille continued hardly pausing to let Young have a word in edgeways before finally finishing her rant and stomping out the door, scattering a pair of curious onlookers with the withering glare of a woman who desperately wanted a shower.

"Well, I guess that just leaves you and me on the list of people willing to change Rush's diapers, TJ" Young said as he deftly attempted to put his arm on Lt. Johansson's shoulder.

"Speak for yourself Colonel" TJ said, "_I_ for one am tired of being peed on by a 50 year old in a baby suit and I'd swear he DOES do it deliberately! Probably as some kind of protest against having his personal space violated. I'm sure if he could control those chubby little fingers then he'd have the middle one pointed at anyone and everyone who tried to peek in his diaper."

"Now TJ, I'm quite sure that baby Rush is thinking no such thing" Young coaxed, "Beside you said yourself that at the rate he's growing he'll probably be out of diapers in a week or two."

"Probably more like four or five" TJ grumbled, "Which reminds me, I'm scheduled to lead an away team down to the planet to collect a few more samples, but don't you worry Everett I'm sure I'll be back in, oh four or five weeks" she smiled triumphantly as she grabbed a backpack and bolted out the door.

Young shrugged and looked down at the tiny source of all this conflict. How could anybody be mad at such an adorable infant, "Such a lot of work you are you little squirt" he said briefly tickling his transformed head scientist under his chin saying, "oochy googhy goo" in degusting run of baby talk that he was sure Rush would complain about later once he relearned how to talk. 'Such a lot of fuss over a simple biological process' Young clucked, as he gently peeling off the soaked diaper Camille had thrown over the baby in an attempt to save herself from a further dousing.

Whistling cheerily Young carefully wiped baby Rush clean and just as he was reaching for a fresh diaper baby Rush nailed him with a long yellow stream carefully aimed right into his mouth.

Young sputtered, suddenly feeling like bringing child sacrifices back into fashion as he reached for his flask of Brody's finest in an effort to rinse one repulsive taste out of his mouth with another. "Lot a lot a work" he muttered as he returned to his thankless task carefully pinning the fresh diaper into place, even managing to resist pricking the little prick in the process. Barely.

Baby Rush gurgled happily.


	16. 20 yrs later addendums-Teething Trouble

Twenty Years Later Addendums – Teething Troubles

A gate kawoosh

Nails on a chalkboard

An atom bomb

Child's play when compared to the auditory punishment that Rush laid down when he started teething. How his screams could penetrate bulkheads on an Ancient spaceship was a mystery. When his cries managed to reverberate all the way from the medbay to the bridge, Eli had turned to Young and asked if he thought maybe Destiny itself was amplifying the sound in some sort of show of sympathy or maybe in an effort to force them to go help Rush, but of course nobody really believed that ridiculous notion. Such an imagination that Eli has, they'd say, well they'd mime it as best as they could anyway since nobody could hear much of anything over that racket and the only person who might actually know what was going was Rush himself and he wasn't talking yet.

They'd tried to quiet him down in the traditional way by shoving things in his mouth for him to chew on, the problem was that nothing seemed to last for more than a few blissful minutes until Rush tired of that particular chew toy and loudly demanded something else. They'd gone through shirts, belts and a variety of Brody made plastic toys, but nothing seemed to work until one interrupted meeting too many sent Colonel Young charging into the make-shift nursery TJ had set up in the medbay to tell that damn fifty year old baby exactly what he really thought about him - when a miracle occurred.

As Young was busy swearing and wagging his finger in front of his face, baby Rush stopped crying long enough to get a good look at his surroundings and he immediately clamped down on that wagging finger. Hard.

Young yelped once, more in surprise than pain and after that it was nothing but blissful silence.

Young tried to take his finger out, but everyone protested passionately against that. Wray even threatened to take over the ship again if he did and this time Greer of all people backed her up.

Young knew when he was licked so he decided to make the best of it, he asked Brody to make him a sling so that he could carry Rush around without impeding his own duties on the ship, well any duties he could perform one handed and for the next week and a half the whole ship was in a near constant state of giggles whenever they saw Colonel Everett Young, commanding officer in the U.S. military walking about issuing orders with a baby strapped to his chest, relentlessly chewing on his finger.

It wasn't until Chloe had the brilliant idea to add a little of Brody's booze to Rush's bottle that the teething problem seemed to resolve to the great relief of Col. Young.

After all it wasn't as if Rush was underage.

Author's note – This author does not endorse giving moonshine to babies. Unless of course said babies are over 40. Thank you.


	17. 20 yrs later addendums - Potty Mouth

Twenty Years Later Addendums – Potty Mouth

Have you ever heard a two year old swear? OK maybe you have, but I'd bet you never heard one string every bad word in the universe together in one unending sentence and that's precisely what the science crew of Destiny heard one day when Rush toddled into the control interface room.

The tot tirade was brought on as little Rush reached for the console and discovered that his stubby little arms proved too short to reach it.

Lisa Park tried to pick him up and comfort him. At first he spun around on unsteady legs trying to escape her, but after a few wobbly steps and an embarrassing fall onto his bum, Rush gave in and allowed Park to pick him up and squeeze him.

"Oh poor baby" the irritating woman cooed at him, "It must be so frustrating for you not being able to reach the things you used to".

Sensing weakness, Rush opened his eyes as wide as he could and he looked up at Park with as many tears as he could manage threatening to spill out from his mesmerizing brown eyes.

From that day on Dr. Park became little Rush's love slave. Every day he'd toddle up to her wherever she was working and give her the look she couldn't resist and she would gently pick him up and take him to whichever console he indicated and hold him on her hip within easy reach of it.

And as if it wasn't humiliating enough for Volker & Eli getting constantly shown up by Rush on a daily basis; try having a toddler correct your work. Eli said it was pretty much the most irritating thing in the whole universe, including the Twilight series.

Fortunately Rush grew quickly and before long the Lisa-lift was replaced by a series of Brody-blocks created in succession to help Rush reach his precious consoles as he grew.

As for Dr. Park, she got knitting lessons from Camille and started leaving little blue booties all over the quarters she shared with Greer. He didn't seem to mind.


	18. 20 yrs later addendums -Puberty Problems

_Twenty Years Later Addendums 'Puberty'_

Puberty was problematic.

Rush had been hard enough to deal with in middle age and now nature had just taken the dynamic badass that was Nicholas Rush and dumped about a million billion additional hormones on top of him.

Needless to say pranks ensued.

By the time Brody realized his still had been contaminated by massive quantities of salt, James and Chloe had already down three shots and TJ made him take apart the still and scrub out every part to save the ship's dwindling water supplies.

Even in the body of a thirteen year old Nicholas Rush was intimidating (perhaps even more so) and Brody never said a word.

Volker cringed visibly every time Lisa Park comes near him. It's hard to pretend you don't have a crush on a girl when SOMEONE painted 'Volker loves Park' in almost every currently usable corridor. It would be months before he could say more than two words to her without blushing.

But he _never_ said a word to Rush.

Several couples on Destiny nearly had heart attacks when an anonymous bulletin was posted in the mess about the recent failures of Brody Brand condoms.

TJ was not amused.

The worst hit was probably Eli.

He nearly had a mental breakdown when on his documentary night, '_Destiny, Two Years Aboard. Well That Is Two Years If You Don't Count All The Time We Spent In Stasis And That Time We Got Stuck In A Time Loop Or That Time We Went Back In Time, But That Wasn't Really Us, Except It Was'_, was switched out for a documentary on how much time Eli spent in the Ancient showers.

Eli asked Young for a gun again.

By then Young had had enough so he took Rush over his knee and spanked him. When Wray protested on this show of violence, Young just said, 'Hey he was born in the 60's he knows the deal'.

Anyway you cut it. The pranks stopped.


End file.
